SonRise Community Church Evening Seminars

Smashing Babies??? (Psalm 137)

Tonight we turn to Psalm 137. We will read the whole psalm and then dive into it as we unpack it together. Psalm 137 By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion. On the willows there we hung up our lyres, for there our captors required of us songs and our tormentors mirth, saying, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion." How shall we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill. Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy. Remember, O Lord, against the Edomites the day of Jerusalem, how they said, "Lay it bare, lay it bare, down to its foundations." O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed, blessed shall he be who repays you with what you have done to us. Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock. The word of the Lord from Psalm 137. There is a lot for us to unpack this evening, but first, we begin with the concept of imprecatory psalms. The word "imprecatory" or "imprecate" simply means to invoke a curse upon someone or something. In the Psalter, we have what are called imprecatory psalms. While there is debate over how many actually exist, they are usually classified as a subclass found within the category of laments. You can see this in Psalm 137: it opens with a lament and ends with a curse. They flow from a spirit of lamentationa broken crying out to God. Of the 150 psalms, roughly 30 contain some form of curse language. Eight are usually defined strictly as imprecatory laments, where these elements fill a significant portion of their meaning. These include Psalms 7, 35, 58, 59, 69, 83, 109, and 137. These psalms are all prayers to God, calling for His work to be done. They flow from a cry for justice or vindication, coming from a place of deep need where the speaker is unable to act themselves and must trust fully in Gods work. Most imprecatory psalms are personal, often written by David in the midst of his struggles. However, Psalm 137 is unique; it is a national call for Gods justice, set during the Babylonian exile. The setting is specific: "By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion." These singers were likely part of the priesthood, those required to sing the psalms in the temple courts. Now, they have been pulled out of the temple and sent into exile. They sit by the waters of Babylonlikely the Euphrates River or one of its tributaries. Babylon was nothing like Jerusalem. It was a lush city, overflowing with greenery and water in the midst of the desert. Yet, even in this beautiful, immaculate city, the exiles focused on what they had left behind. They did not want to forget that Babylon was not where they belonged. In the midst of this beauty, they wept because their home no longer existed as they knew it. To them, Jerusalem was now a barren wasteland, and the glory that was Zion was no more. As the psalm continues, we see them being taunted: "On the willows there we hung up our lyres, for there our captors required of us songs, and our tormentors mirth, saying, 'Sing us one of the songs of Zion.'" There is debate over whether they hung their lyres simply to rest or as an act of hiding them. Regardless, they were putting away their instruments to avoid being mocked. Their captors ridiculed their faith, essentially saying, "Dance for us! Sing us one of those joyous songs you used to sing in your temple. We've conquered your God and your city, but your songs are prettysing for us." This leads to a profound question: "How shall we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land?" How do you sing of the glory and beauty of God in the midst of destruction? How do you sing the joyous psalms of ascentsongs of journeying to the templewhile that temple lies in ruins? They were tormented by the reminder of all that had been lost. Yet, they could not forget. The psalmist writes, "If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill." This is a vow of remembrance. Even if they cannot sing the songs of their glorious land for their captors, they will not forget their home. I am reminded of the song "Jerusalem" by Matisyahu, which reflects on this very line: "If I forget you, let my right hand forget what it's supposed to do." It is a call to never forget what God has done, even when overwhelmed by the "waters of Babylon." The exiles were being assimilated into Babylonian culture, but the prayer here is a resistance to that assimilation. Jeremiah had told the exiles to build homes and pray for the welfare of Babylon, but they were not to become Babylonians. They were to be in the city but not of it. This is a great admonition for us today. It is easy to get wrapped up in our current lives and forget that our true citizenship is in heaven. Like the children of these exiles, we must not forget our roots or become assimilated into the world around us. The psalmist continues, "Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy." In the history of Israel, Jerusalem or Zion represents God Himself. It is not just about a location; it is about the presence of God. Yahweh resided in Jerusalem. When we speak of our home, we speak of where God is. That is our greatest joy. As we reach the end of the psalm, we encounter the harsh language of imprecation: "Remember, O Lord, against the Edomites the day of Jerusalem... O daughter of Babylon... blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock." This sounds shocking to our ears, but it must be understood in context. The Babylonians were notoriously cruel. Historical accounts tell us they slaughtered the sons of King Zedekiah before his eyes before blinding him and taking him in chains. They were a people who showed no mercy. The psalmist is not creating a new category of violence; he is calling on the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah. Isaiah 13:16 prophesied that those who destroyed Jerusalem would have their own infants dashed in pieces. The psalmist is essentially praying, "Lord, do what You said You would do. Bring Your justice to pass against those who have committed such atrocities." This is not a personal vendetta; it is a cry for divine vindication. It is a trust that God will ultimately be just. We see this echoed in the book of Revelation, where the martyrs under the altar cry out for God to vindicate them. Gods justice has an eternal perspective. The Babylonian captivity lasted 70 to 80 years; the psalmist likely never saw Babylon fall. Yet, in time, God was faithful, and Babylon was brought to ruins. Ultimately, we are called to trust God in the fullness of time. We pray that His majestic name is honored and glorified, and we trust Him with the outcome. No one escapes Gods judgment in the end. We are His children, and we must never lose sight of our true allegiance. Let us pray.

Semper Reformanda

Semper Reformanda We now come to Semper Reformanda. Although it is not one of the five solas, it is a Reformation teaching that helps tie them all together. Over the last seven weeks, we traced the ecclesiological history of the medieval church, the need for the Reformation, and the development of the five solasScripture alone, grace alone, faith alone, Christ alone, and for the glory of God alone. Together, these reveal how salvation is found in Christ and how the Reformation sought to recapture the gospel. The Origin and Meaning of Semper Reformanda The phrase Semper Reformanda comes from the 17th century, first appearing in a Dutch ministers devotional. The full Latin expression is Ecclesia Reformata, Semper Reformandathe church reformed, always being reformed. In modern usage, you may also see Fides Reformata, Semper Reformandathe Reformed faith, always reforming. Both emphasize the same idea: continual reformation. Reformation, by definition, is the act of improving or correcting somethingbehavior, institutions, or practicesby removing abuses or corruptions. In a biblical sense, reformation aims to restore the church as closely as possible to its original, scriptural state. This is not a call to constant novelty or progressivism. Rather, it is a call to continually evaluate all we say, do, and believe according to Scripture. When we consider the 15th and 16th centuries, it is important to remember that the Reformers did not set out to break from Rome. Luther did not intend to start a new church or create Lutheranism. His 95 Theses were written to correct errors in the church according to Scripture. He remained a Catholic monk and Augustinian until he was pushed out. The Reformation began as a call to reform the church so that the Catholic Churchthe one true church in their understandingwould once again be holy and faithful to Scripture. Every generation, however, tends to drift from the gospel. Scripture warns that people will seek teachers who tickle their ears, and this has been true in every age. Semper Reformanda calls us to examine whether we are following Scripture or merely following tradition. Biblical Foundations for Semper Reformanda Two key passages illustrate this principle: Acts 17 The Bereans The Bereans received the word with eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. They did not simply accept Pauls teaching because of his authority. They tested it against Scripture. This is a model for the church today: do not accept teaching merely because a pastor or leader says it. Pastors are fallible. Scripture alone is infallible. 1 Thessalonians 5:1922 Test Everything Paul instructs the Thessalonians to test everything; hold fast what is good. This includes testing prophecies, teachings, and practices. The church must remain engaged, discerning whether teachings align with Scripture rather than being carried away by every new doctrine or personality. Semper Reformanda is therefore a call to an active, thoughtful, Scripture-centered faith. Common Errors A. Reformation as Nostalgic Renewal Some interpret reformation as returning to an idealized pastwhether medieval Catholicism, early church asceticism, or Puritanism. Each generation tends to romanticize a previous era. But no era of church history was perfect. Every age had blind spots, including our own. The Reformers did look back to the early church and the original languages (ad fontes), but they did so to better understand Scripturenot to canonize past traditions or personalities. B. Reformation as Endless Progressivism Others believe always reforming means always changing. This leads to churches conforming to cultural trendsaffirming whatever society affirms in the name of love or inclusion. This is not biblical reformation; it is capitulation. C. Reformation as Endless Purification On the opposite extreme, some pursue a pure church through constant division. John Frame famously called this phenomenon Machens Warrior Childrenthose who inherited Machens zeal for doctrinal purity but turned it into perpetual warfare. This leads to fragmentation, where every disagreement becomes grounds for separation. Erasmus warned Luther that schism breeds more schism, and history has proven him right. Every generation faces new distortions of biblical truth: Grace alone can become hyper-grace, denying repentance or holiness. Faith alone can be subtly replaced with faith plus works or faith plus doctrinal precision. Christ alone can become Christ plus tradition, Christ plus sacraments, or Christ plus theological systems. Scripture alone can be overshadowed by favorite theologians, denominations, or cultural assumptions. Semper Reformanda calls us to continually evaluate whether our beliefs and practices align with Scripturenot with tradition, culture, or personal preference. Reformed theology holds two commitments: Reformed Scripture is the foundation of all doctrine and practice. Reforming We continually examine ourselves to ensure we remain faithful to Scripture. This protects the church from: Traditionalism (doing things because weve always done it this way) Cultural accommodation (doing things because the world says we should) Instead, we pursue a thoughtful, Scripture-driven faith that seeks to honor God in all things. Conclusion Semper Reformanda reminds us that the church must never drift into complacency. We must not coast or slide into neutral. Instead, we actively seek the Spirits guidance through the Word, allowing Scripture to teach, correct, admonish, and transform us. That is the heart of Semper Reformanda.

Soli Deo Gloria

Transcription: Soli Deo Gloria So as I said, we come tonight to Soli Deo Gloria, the final sola on our list. So this is the fifth of the five solas, and we've worked through up to this point now. Sola Scriptura, that's at the foundation for everything that we've discussed, that from scripture alone, we understand who God is, we understand who we are, we understand salvation. So it all begins with the scriptures that teach us, that inform us, that drive us. So from there, we then talked about Sola Gratia, so we talked about that grace alone. So it is by grace we are saved, it is not of ourselves. And then from grace, we talked about faith, and it is that grace that gives faith. So Sola Fide, okay? And then from faith, we then saw what is it that, who gives us grace, who gives us faith, but Christ alone, and that there is no other name under heaven by which man can be saved. So we talked about Christ alone. So Christ is our all in all, and that is where we left off last week, as we now come to the ultimate finale in Soli Dei Gloria, for the glory of God alone. So this is our topic, is for the God's glory alone. So we'll look at this in three distinct ways tonight. So first, we'll talk about a historical perspective, we'll talk a little bit about Reformation, some of the misconceptions when people think of this term, then we'll deal with a theological understanding of the term, and then finally, we'll look at a practical or a common way that we can apply this term to our lives. So we think historically, the idea of glory, the glory of God, of God of glory. We come first, of course, to Luther again. We have the Luther rose before us here in the Reformation. And one of the things that people will critique about Soli Deo Gloria is the fact that Luther himself was against a theology of glory, okay? So part of this will become a misunderstanding, but the theology of glory is ultimately Luther's biggest pet peeve. When he looked at the Roman Catholic Church, what he said often is that their theology was all about glory and transcendence in God apart from the humiliation of God. And so one of the things that people will pick up on is how can the Reformers be about the glory of God alone if Luther was so against God's glory? This is to clearly be a straw man argument because Luther in no way, shape, or form was against the glory of God. However, when we think of it, the glory of God must be placed in its proper context. And the proper context of God's full glory begins and ends with the salvation of mankind through the humiliation of God, through the death of Christ. So that it is not simply about doing the proper works and God gets glory as you do great things for him, but rather the ultimate and full glory of God is revealed in his son. So this is what Luther will make his primary theology. It is through Christ alone, the death of Christ alone, that Christ and God get the fullest experience of glory. It's not in the riches, it's not in the big buildings, it's not in all the fancy architecture. That is not where the glory of God is seen. The glory of God is seen ultimately and fully in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ alone. That, the theology of the cross or the theology of humiliation, is the cornerstone of Luther's theology which gives God glory. So again, so one of those things people will highlight, again, thinking of Luther being anti-glory, Luther is not anti-glory, but glory in its proper context. Again, so it's not about the big shiny things, not the big things that are sought for God's glory, but the son alone is what Luther will highlight. The other critique of this in a reformed perspective becomes Calvin. So people will say one of the things that Calvin often spoke about is the glory of God given to humanity, that humanity finds glory in God and therefore in themselves are glorified. That may sound confusing, but there's an emphasis that Calvin highlights a lot of the dignity of mankind. So it's where we get the fact that the humanity begins in Genesis 1 and 2, not Genesis 3. Often people think of reformed doctrine as Genesis 3 over, like we're just worms and dust and humanity is of no value and is just, God was just nice to us. We were of nothing. Though Calvin would be what we say is Genesis 1 and 2, that mankind is made in God's image. God gave mankind image and in such he gave them a form of glory because mankind took on God's perspective. Mankind is of value, not in of his intrinsic self, but in the fact that they bear God's image thus gives them a value greater than creation. Okay. So this will often be Calvin's argument. Okay. It's not that Christ died because he loved his image so much, but that he loved himself to gain the most glory in our salvation. So Calvin has this understanding in view. And so when we look at Calvin.Right, and he's gonna highlight things like Isaiah 43 For I am the Lord your God's okay speaking to Israel in their salvation I am the Lord your God the Holy One of Israel your Savior I gave Egypt as your ransom cush and see but in exchange for you because you are precious in my eyes and honored or Gloried is also a way that is translated and I love you I give men in return for you people in exchange for your life fear not for I am with you I will bring your offspring from the east and from the west. I will gather you I will say to the north give up and to the south do not withhold bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth Everyone who is called by my name who I created for my glory whom I formed So gal Calvin will often connect the glory of God To his salvation of mankind that in his love for them. He is most glorified Okay, these are very similar themes but highlighting them from different directions So when people say things like Calvin and Luther were against God's glory as we understand it They were not they approached them from different directions than the Roman Catholic Church and in such we're critiquing a false understanding and As we travel through history the glory of God will become a major theme. There is one famous composer Does anyone know who signed all of his works? With to God's glory Johan Sebastian Bach signed all of his Writings with the solo SDG. So SDG is on all of his writings It's because he believed that every work of mankind should be done for the glory of God So after pouring his heart on it was simply for God's glory and fame. So this becomes a theme throughout History and again, we see it often in the arts that performance for the glory of God supremely and so everything is done for the exaltation of God's name and So that's just a brief kind of touching on some overview historical points Some of the misnomers we'll get into here in our theological understanding So when we think of the glory of God the first thing that it is not The glory of God is not the same thing when you read in Scripture the glory of the Lord Okay, so usually we saw this last week in the book of Exodus that the glory of the Lord would be shown in the morning Okay When the manna would come it said the glory of the Lord would be shown. It's the first time it appears in the Bible The glory of the Lord shown round about them and they were greatly afraid Everyone know when we talk about the shepherds the glory of the Lord is a manifestation of glory in an actual physical sign so that's like you think of the kind of glory they're like, ah God Okay. So when we talk about solo de gloria, this is not that this is different. Okay, so usually we use the word glory of the Lord for the God knocking people down showing himself Different phrase. Okay, just so we are clear on all our terminology Sometimes people get these things mixed up. So we want to begin with this foundation So we talked about the glory of God alone. It is for his prestige for his name So when we think glory, it's that lifted high is that picture so put on a pedestal above all else So glory in that phrase not a physical manifestation of himself, so they are Different and so for our historical theological understand This is the direction that the Reformers went is that everything that happened was for God's glory alone Specifically as I think you've begun to see is salvation is the purpose Is the purpose being driven in the solace? It's who is the one who saves how does God save? How do we understand salvation? This was what the Reformers were fighting for was a true understanding of the gospel So what do we believe and how do we believe it? And so ultimately it is that salvation itself exists to give God the most glory Okay, so each of the pieces along the way culminate here in all of those things must be true for God to be most glorified If anywhere along the way those four first steps break apart God is not perfectly glorified for in each of those other states something else can receive glory Okay, something else can be put on a pedestal as having achieved Something and so this drives the understanding of Soli de Gloria that all of this leads to this beautiful picture that God is supremely God There is no one else who can match his work. And so we begin in Romans 11 So it's the text I want to begin with thinking theologically. This is usually where most people will highlight Romans 1133 through 36. This is the end of the theological section of the book of Romans Okay, one of the thingsthat we highlight in Paul's writing. Paul loves to do theology first, application second. Okay, and there are several points along the way where he'll end with these little doxologies or praises of God as he transitions into application. And so this is what we also see in Romans. And Romans, of course, is the gospel theological text. If you want a deep understanding of the theology of the gospel, it's the book of Romans. Unpacks it, deep theology. There's not any really specific Romans-based issues. What I mean, when you read Paul's letter, he's not addressing any issues in Rome. He doesn't know them. He doesn't really have a relationship with them. He wants to. He wants to go there. He wants to meet them. But I don't know you, and since I don't know you, what am I gonna give you? The thing that I'm most passionate about, the gospel. So I'm gonna give you the theology of it. I'm gonna give you the basic application of it. That's what Romans is. And so you're not lost in any, like, well, what's the culture like? It is the gospel. It's pure and simple and beautifully written. And so this is where we go to even now as Paul finalized his theological discussion and makes this transition, he ends it this way, beginning in 33. Oh, the depth and the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God. Okay, after giving all this theology, this is what he says. How unsearchable are his judgments. How inscrutable his ways. For who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid. For from him and through him and to him are all things to him be glory forever. Amen. All glory, all majesty to him alone. All that is said and done is to make much of him. And we see this throughout the books of Paul's writing. Paul and Peter and Jude and Revelation, or given to us by John, all have these themes and will all have these statements time and time again reflecting on God alone is the one who receives glory. Ephesians 3, 21, to him be glory in the church and in Christ throughout all generations, forever and ever. Philippians 4, which we just went through not that long ago as Sam worked through it. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever, amen. Peter in his works in verse 4, 11, whoever speaks and whoever speaks oracles of God, whoever serves is one who serves with strength in order that everything God may be glorified through Christ. So in 1 Peter 4, he's given this list of how to live out the faith and in the end for the glory of God, that God may be glorified in everything we do, he will be made much of. And so all this begins to point to the fact of for God to be most glorified, for God to be most put on display, it is that he is the one who has done all these things. He is the one who has saved us. So the theological foundation begins with the fact that God alone is the one who causes all things to be. Okay, so in this series, we've been looking at these individual pieces and he is the one who has brought it about. And in so doing, he is most honored and glorified throughout history. So in Egypt, we talked about the fact that he brought them alone through the Red Sea. Did anyone help him accomplish anything in the Exodus? No, he did it all. Even as we got to the fact of the last three weeks, they've hit crisis after crisis and they go to Moses and each time Moses is like, I don't know, I can't fix it. I can't make bitter water sweet, it's a little bit beyond my pay grade. You have no food, congratulations, neither do I. We have no water, neither do I. These are not things that I can accomplish. Only God can accomplish it. And in so doing, he receives all the glory because only he has done these things. They accomplish nothing on their own. They do not have the power and this is what is continually reminded of them. All the more we continually see this in the life of Israel. God reminds them time and time again, he acts for his glory. Isaiah 40 to eight, I am the Lord, that is my name, my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols. Theological understanding highlights God is glorified alone in the world. So even when we think about life and we think about salvation, we think about one true God, Israel, okay? When we think about Israel's worship of God, it is to be only to him, for he is the only one worthy of being glorified. For all other carved idols are worthless. Again, Isaiah's got long jokes about tossing them into the fires and there's lots of sarcastic points in the book of Isaiah. Enjoy the book of Isaiah, it's fun. So does Ezekiel. They've got many stinging condemnations against idolatry. But we too are quick.to not give full glory to God as we turn to other things in the world. And God continually reminds us, specifically again in the life of Israel, while he is a loving God, that he is slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, it does not mean he passes over our blatant idolatry. He did not pass over Israel's blatant idolatry, but rather calls them to the mat when the time was right so that these words are true, only I am worthy of glory. Only I will be glorified. So we think at the end of all time, when we get to Revelation, all knees, every tongue will confess that God alone, Christ Jesus is king to his glory alone. It is not anyone else that can receive this glory. For he heard every creature in heaven and earth and on the earth and under the earth and in the sea and all of them saying, to him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever. When the time ends, this is the song of the elders. This is the song of the saints. To them alone, to God alone is all glory from now until the end of time. For they alone have saved. He alone has saved. He alone is the one worthy. He is the one who commands all of our life. No one compares to him. From beginning to end, he is the one who has created mankind. He is the one who has given life to mankind. He is the one who's given the law to mankind. He is the one who's given resurrection and hope to mankind through repentance and faith in Christ. He is the one who's done all these things, not to make much of us but all the more to make much of him. He is our God. And so our texts continually reinforce this thing that the Apostles were clear that we must remember that everything in our lives must focus on this end. So that's why as we think about that's the theological, it transitions into our practical outworking. So what does this mean? I think we can mentally go, yes, all glory to God. He is the one who has saved us. The Epistles repeat this, but what does that practically look like? How does this shape us? And I think this is actually the most important part when we think of Soli Deo Gloria, is how does it actually work itself out in our lives? Because when we asked last week, Adam asked that question, what is the most ignored of the Solas? This is ultimately what I still think is the most ignored of the five Solas is Soli Deo Gloria, because it kind of becomes a passing, yes, all glory to God. And then we just move on. Like we say it, but do people actually mean it? Or is it simply just a motion people go through? It's like the Emmy speech, I'd like to thank God, my mother, everyone in the world that has helped. Do I actually mean it? Or is like, well that's what I'm supposed to say. So we're supposed to say all glory to God, cool, it's in Scripture. But does that shape who we are? Do we think about our lives in the fact of, do our actions reflect those who live for God's glory? This takes us to 1st Corinthians 10. So again, the book of 1st Corinthians dealing with a church that has lots of issues. Okay, 1st Corinthians, it's probably one of the most messed up churches in Scripture that we have a long epistle to. Again, you can debate some of the churches in Revelation. But 1st Corinthians has a lot of stuff going on, a lot of confusion. Okay, it's also the church Paul probably spent the most time with. He spent a long time with them. Before he left, he wrote them a very lengthy letter addressing some of their issues. Technically, we know roughly he wrote at least three letters. We only have two of them. But he spent a lot of time with them. In the book of 1st Corinthians, it'll also say that they're the proof that he is an apostle because they came to faith. This messed up church with all their problems is proof that Paul's an apostle. It's probably one of my most, I find the most fun statements in the book of 1st Corinthians. But this point is he goes, when looking at all the things, when all of our life come together, so whether you eat or drink, and he's talking about idolatry and how people eat and drink and how they live their lives, do whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. So be purposeful. Okay, so if the aim of our lives is to live for the glory of God, that means that our lives must be lives of purpose. Is the glory of God a passive thing or is a purposeful thing that we strive for? Again, when we talk about the Israelites of old, idolatry was a chosen, that you're choosing idolatry over God. You're choosing to add the Asher poles and the Baal worship and all these other ones. They're willfully choosing that God is not enough. Okay, in our day and age we don't...have it that obvious. Okay, we're not usually going to random bail. I don't even know if you probably could. I'm sure there's some part in Pasco County because it's Pasco County that you can still do that. If people have lived here long enough, you know what I mean. But just we're a weird County. So that picture, though, of idolatry in our context tends to be much more passive idolatry. Okay, we equally turn to the world for all of our answers instead of God. We just don't have graved images that we do it to. Okay, but we will look to the world, we'll look to politicians, we'll look to science, we'll look to all sorts of things to solve our problems and not to God. And this in many ways is idolatry because part of it is we're not thinking volitionally. Again, not that those aren't good things, not that you shouldn't go to a doctor, you should. It's good to have those things. But what is our goal in all of our actions? Day by day, do you think of your life as being lived for the glory of God? Do you stop at all during your day to think, do these actions reflect those who are seeking to glorify God? Or are we passively going through life every single day? Do we passively simply exist? And this is the admonition that we have in our text. Whatever you do, and again this isn't even like a don't do things, this is whatever you do. Whether you eat or drink, however you are choosing to live out the faith in accordance with God's rules and admonitions in Scripture, do it for God's glory. Do it with joy. Do it to make the most of who God is. Because that's ultimately what living for the glory of God is, is living to make God most known. Okay, do we do that? When we go out the door in the morning, do we think about how we can make God known today? So I think about recently I was at a, we had a pastor's conference with some of our friends. They did a conference down here called Practically Pastoring. And one of the guys there is a t-shirt designer. He does t-shirts. You may have seen Adam and I wear them. He's got one that says, how can I pray for you? Okay, it's become like a giant movement all of a sudden, like in the last year. But he actually started it almost three years ago. So when it was just simply the fact that he was traveling around the country, him and his wife, he does t-shirt design. So he has a printing thing so he can travel and just meet people and do stuff. So he's got a lot of flexibility. It was just, what can I do to make the most of God while we're traveling the country in an RV? He's like, I print t-shirts. So one day he, the first he started with just putting a sign out. He just put a sign out like, how can I use my day for the glory of God? Just a little camper sign that says, how can I pray for you? That's it. Just every, every random RV site, they just put the sign out front, go about their day. Said over a year, not one person ever stopped to ask for prayer. Every single day, put it out. Nothing, nothing. Kept praying like, Lord, use this for something. He said they were in Texas, had been about a year, and he was pretty much done. He's like, I don't know. They were at the back of a campground. Like the person sent them to the farthest place possible. He's like, there was no access. Nobody could see us. But he just was like, I guess I'll put the sign out. So he put his sign out out front. He's like, there's not even anyone here. But, so what have you been doing? So he's like, this is what I feel the Lord has for me. So he puts his how I can pray for you out next to his little camper. He's like, no one's gonna see this. And he said later that night, someone knocked on his door. Very confusing. Because also people tend to leave you alone, apparently, at RV parks. But it was actually the camp, it was actually the maintenance guy who runs the camp. And so his immediate reaction is like, this guy's gonna be mad about my sign. It's like, technically it's like it could be advertising. People have made comments. And so he's like, this guy's gonna be mad about my sign. And he's like, and that's not what happened. The guy's actually like, hey is this your sign? It's like, yeah. It's like, will you pray for me right now? And they had a whole conversation. And the guy actually walked him back. He's like, so, like just going through his entire life. Like he was supposed to move back home. Money fell through. His entire life had begun to fall apart. His like father had died. Like it was just a massive, everything was falling apart. Life was bad. I just need someone to pray for me. And so he's prayed with him there. They kept walking. Kind of worked through this whole discussion. And then he took him to a tree. Which personally this still sounds like a creepy moment. He's like, and he's like, and that's where I was gonna hang myself an hour ago before I saw your sign. He's like, I already, the ropes already there. Like it's, which is still a creepy story. But, but there is a fact he's like, and I just, he's like, there's no way anyone could see the sign. The only reason he saw it is because he was riding his bike away to do things. And it's like, I just saw it while I was going. So, I was like.I got a shot. I'll ask this guy to pray for me. Maybe it'll do something. And so that then started a movement. He prayed with him again. He still has contact with him. Not that the guy got saved. That's always what people want to say. But his life began to ask questions. He still apparently has conversations with him. But that began to like, clearly the Lord was doing something. And just every day, being faithful to what he felt the Lord, that I'm gonna give God glory with while we're here. So whatever the Lord has, now there's t-shirts everywhere. It's very popular. He wears them. Airports, people stop him all the time to pray. We have them. It's become a movement of just being purposeful with your day. That's all it was about. It's like, how can I use my day purposely to make much of God? And prayer is a very simple thing that we forget. And not just a like, oh, thank you for your prayer request. Okay. Like, but actually stopping and actively praying for people. And doing that well. As an act of making much of God. And again, some of that sounds very super spiritual. Some of it's literally just hanging out with people. Jesus hung out with sinners. For the purpose of making his father known. For making salvation known. He hung out with people. It wasn't just like, come to church. It was like, I'll come to your place. And we'll hang out. And we'll talk. And we'll get to know each other. It's using the time that we have to make the most of God. And in that is also understanding that the only way people can come to salvation is by God. You can't make them come to faith. It is all the work of God alone who does that. We are just faithful with the message. And that's where we get the encouragement that God is the one who works. And God does amazing things for his glory. To make much of himself. And that's not an egotistical thing. The one who is worthy of all glory, honor, and power is the one who has created all things. If there's anyone who, it's always something, is there anyone who can be egotistical? Clearly it's God. He's the one who has done all things. Worthy of praise, honor, and glory. Thus, he is the one who receives all our praise. And so this is where this historical understanding has continually progressed, is the fact that the glory of God is our pursuit. Now some can abuse it. Of course, as I said, it's been abused by people where it just becomes a passing. I had a professor in Bible college who used to say this all the time. He would quote Isaiah 42 all the time. I am the Lord, that is my name. My glory I give to no other, nor praise to carve idols. Became like a, just beat people over the head that God is amazing and you all suck. This is recorded. But that was like his mantra. It's like, okay, everyone is bad and God is good. Awesome. Okay. That even we had one girl who's like, well, how does this change my life? Well, God is glorified and that will change your life. Okay. It just starts becoming like this blanket statement that loses its, like the glory of God motivates our lives because it does shape us. Our understanding of everything we do is motivated by, should be motivated. Do we do this? Of course not. We understand that that isn't how every single day goes, but the motivation is, but that is what we are called to continue to pursue. And he is the one who continues to do this for us. So we're called to grow in these endeavors. And so I hope that as we continue to push on next week, as I said, we're going to deal with the idea of Semper Reformanda. We're going to unpack each of the five and highlight some different ways that we see that continually being worked out, how each of the five still have their own work, even today, as we look back on them. Well, again, we'll talk about the idea of always reforming. Again, always reforming is not always progressing. Those are different things. Okay. Often people think that the reformation was progress. It was not progress. It was reformation, which simply means to reform around the original. We're going back. Okay. So it's that scripture is our guide. So we reform around the gospel. So reformed. We are reforming it back to as it should be. And so as we see throughout history, it's very easy to get lost in tangents. And so history is full of tangents. Doctrine and theology is full of tangents. And often tangents become priorities, and then we lose the gospel along the way. So next week we'll unpack how those different, how the solos often become tangents that become their own false idols and how we need to continually be reforming back to the gospel, the heart of the faith found in Christ alone. So that is what is on deck next week as we bring our solos to a close. So questions, comments, thoughts, charges of heresy.

Solus Christus

Well, tonight, we're continuing on in the five solas series, the five big themes of the Protestant Reformation, which are sola scriptura. What does this mean? Scripture alone, sola gratia, what's this mean? Sola fide. We come now to solus Christus, or in other words, Christ alone is what this means. That is tonight, Lord willing. Next week, Pastor Andrew will do the penultimate study, soli deo gloria, to the glory of God alone. I say penultimate because it's not the last one. There'll be one more after that on semper reformanda, which means always reforming. But tonight, as we look at solus Christus, I want to, in a sense, do something different. I want to start with my conclusion. I'm going to restate it, but I want to state it first to show you where we're going, why this matters so much. When we turn to solus Christus, we turn to the linchpin, the hub, the apex, and the center of all Reformation theology, indeed the center of all doctrine together. Christ is the glory of sola scriptura, for He alone is the Word made flesh, and He alone is the interpretive end of all Scripture. Christ is the glory of sola gratia, for He alone is the grace of God personified. Christ is the glory of sola fide, for He alone is the object of saving faith. And Christ is the glory of soli deo gloria, for He alone is the radiance of the glory of God. That's where we're going. I now want to make an argument to get there. And to get there, I want to use the book of Hebrews chapter 1. What were you guessing? Oh, okay. Yeah. That would be a good one. I'm the way, the truth, and the life. That's great. We're going Hebrews chapter 1, verse 1 to 4. Sorry for the letdown. But this one's just as good. So the author of Hebrews, whoever it was in these first four verses, brings his readers quickly to the main point. Jesus is better. Jesus is better than all that's come before. Specifically, for us, as we look into these four verses, I have three points to bring to you tonight to show you the glory of solus Christus, of Christ alone. Jesus as prophet, priest, and king. Jesus as prophet, priest, and king. It's in that order in verse 1 to 4 in Hebrews chapter 1. Historically, John Calvin would call these three offices of Christ the menus triplex. He was the first one in all of church history to give these three titles a label and kind of grouped them together. Ever since then, we have been minded to see this. It's not he didn't invent this. He just kind of made the categorizations and gave it the label, and it's stuck ever since, and there's glorious reasons for it. So let's see first. prophet. This is, well gosh, let me read our text and then we'll get into it. Hebrews 1 1 to 4 says this, long ago at many times and in many ways God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom he also created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. See first, Jesus as prophet. In the first two verses of Hebrews we see a great deal, not of what man has done to get to God, but what God has done to reveal himself to man. It's here where we see Jesus as prophet. Long ago at many times in many ways God spoke. This means God is not a silent God. God is a God who speaks. If God had remained silent, nothing that has been made would have been made. Yet into the dark void of Genesis 1 2 came God's strong and creative word, the power of his word. Genesis 1 3, let there be light, and there was light. God not only spoke all creation into existence, but as the author of Hebrews says here, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets. This means that the same voice that crafted the world called out to God's people through the prophetic office. The calling of the prophet then was to stand in the gap between God and his people as God's representative to speak to the people. This was the role of the prophet. God would reveal his secret counsel to the prophet and then they would reveal the same to God's people. The prophet was not to edit, alter, amend, improve, or remove anything from the message to any degree. They were to give the message as is. This the prophets did in many ways from Moses to Malachi, whether in writing, proclaiming, miracles, or visions. This was how it worked. God revealed himself to his people by his word through his prophet. But in verse 2, notice the transition. In verse 2, there's a transition to something new. But in these last days, God has spoken to us by his Son. So notice firsthand that the author of Hebrews believes that we're not waiting for a future period of time called the last days. No, the author believes that the last days have clearly already begun. Specifically, the event that marked the transition into the last days. God, who once spoke by the prophets, began speaking and spoke through His Son." So here we see that God reveals Himself to His people in two stages according to Hebrews 1. First, to His old covenant people by the prophets, and now to His new covenant church by His Son. We generally could say that these two stages correspond to what we call the Old and New Testament or the Old and New Covenant. God's divine revelation then is progressive. I don't mean the idea that God evolves from one generation to the next. Of course not. God's the same forever and ever. I also do not mean that revelation progresses from something less true to more true, less worthy to more worthy, less mature to more mature. The progression of God's divine revelation from Old Testament to New Testament is a progression from promise to fulfillment or shadow to reality. So there is a true progression here, but be sure to note that God's progression and how He reveals Himself to His people is a progression that leads to Christ. And yet, it's a progression that leads no further than Christ. Prophet after prophet was sent by God to God's people with messages of hope, justice, mercy, judgment, and the promise of a coming Redeemer. Well, when that Redeemer came, God spoke through His Son, the full and final word. The contrast being made in verse 1 and 2 is vast. It is great. God once spoke, once spoke in many ways to Israel by the prophets. God now speaks in one way to the church by His Son. Once the prophets spoke the Word of God to God's people, now Jesus Christ is the very Word of God come to God's people. Therefore, Christ is the perfect, full, and final revelation of who God is and what God requires of man. Or we could just say it, Jesus is true prophet. Hebrews doesn't end there. We now see Jesus as true priest. This picks up in the remainder of verse 2 and in the beginning of verse 3. Here we also learn a great deal, not of what man has done to become right with God, but what God has done to make man right with Himself. This is where we see Jesus stand forth in the text as priest. But before we get to the great priestly statement at the end of verse 3, look at how it begins at the end of verse 2, whom He appointed, the heir of all things, through whom He also created the world. He, Christ, is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature. He upholds the universe by the Word of His power. These identity statements about who Christ is are loaded with life-altering reality. So loaded, in fact, that to do justice to this, we could give one sermon on each of these phrases and that would not be enough. For our purposes tonight, we'll just notice them briefly. Who is Jesus Christ? What does Jesus do? Answer, Jesus is the heir of all things. For his father owns everything and has given everything into his hands. Jesus is the creator of the world, for he is the very word of God, which was God and was with God in the beginning. Jesus is the radiance of the glory of God, for he is the ultimate display of the God we meet in Exodus 3 in the burning bush moment. He is the exact imprint of God's nature. For Jesus, God the Father, was pleased to have all the fullness of the deity dwell in Jesus bodily. And lastly, Jesus is the upholder of the universe, for he is not only the powerful word which made the world, he is the powerful word which sustains the world. This Christ, who created all, sustains all, is fully God, is majestic, is sovereign. This is the one who acted as our priest. You see how that all leads to priest? At the end of verse 3, he and he alone made purification for sins. Now we come to the great priestly work of Christ, and we can make a contrast with prophet and priest. As the prophet was God's representative to the people, so to the priest, just reverse the trajectory, was the people's representative to God. They both stood in the gap, but one was representing God to the people, that's prophet, then priest representing people to God. That is the role of priest. And being the representative of the people, the priest would have to make sacrifices. Sacrifices for their own sins, sacrifices for the people's sins, sacrifices on feast days, on festival days, sacrifice upon sacrifice, standing in the gap for the people of God before God. This was the calling, the duty, and the privilege of the priest. And in this work, we see the glory of the priestly work of Christ, for he too made a sacrifice for sin. He too stood in the gap between God and man, but he made no sacrifice for his own sins. He didn't have any, and he didn't make repeated sacrifices. He made one, and the glory of his sacrifice is that he was the sacrifice. He didn't just offer something else. He was the sacrifice. Two massive realities stand forth here. First, his sacrifice is a one-time event, which covers all the sin of all God's people for all time. He was the sacrifice for the people, as we've mentioned. The Westminster Shorter Catechism quotes it like this, our Redeemer, as our Redeemer Christ served in the office of priest in his once offering up of himself a sacrifice. to satisfy divine justice and reconcile us to God and in making continual intercession for us. So this great high priest, Jesus, not only created the heavens, but came down from the heavens to make new creations out of us. He not only sustains and upholds the universe by the word of His power, but He allowed Himself to be prevailed upon so that we would know the power of the cross. He and He alone stood in the gap between the holy God and sinful man and He and He alone bridged the gap by offering up Himself a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice for sins. In other words, He alone is the true priest. But notice what follows right on the heels in Hebrews 1 of this prophet-priest description. We find Jesus as King right there at the end of verse 3 and 4. After He made purification for sins, what did He do? He sat down. He sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, having become as much superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is more excellent than theirs. It's worth noting that in the instructions, we're going to get here, Lord willing, one day, TBD on how fast we're going to move through this section of Exodus, but when we get the instruction for the furniture and all the furnishings of the tabernacle and the temple, there is no instruction to make a seat for the high priest. There's no instruction to make a seat for the high priest. It's because He was always up and He was always working, making all kinds of various sacrifices for all kinds of sins that the people and Himself were committing. But here we see something different with Christ. After He made purification for sins once for all, He sat down. Why did He sit down? It was a physical way of showing what He just said verbally. After all His suffering, right before death, He said, it is finished. And then after that verbal statement and the three days in the tomb, He ascends and sits down to show His work as Redeemer is finished. He didn't sit down in a lawn chair or a lazy boy. He sat on a throne. And not just any throne, it was God's throne. What does this mean? He's the King. It means He's the King. Christ is not just true prophet, not just true priest, He is true King. The King that anyone and everyone has always desired. And of course, no surprise, this makes me think of Tolkien's third book in the trilogy, The Return of the King. This moment when all the storylines are coming to a conclusion and all the heroes, they have labored and toiled and they have fought to aid Frodo and Sam in getting the ring into the fires of Mount Doom to destroy the enemy. That all happened, but what happened then after the enemy and his ring were destroyed? Aragorn took his rightful place as King in the city of Gondor and sat down on the throne. What was the result of him being enthroned as King, as really the King of man in Middle-earth? Peace came to all the lands of men, of elves, and dwarves. As wonderful as that is, the events of Hebrews 1, 1-4 are infinitely greater. When we see Christ the King put the devil to an open shame in His crucifixion and resurrection and in His death and in His resurrection, in His ascension, in His enthronement and in His session, His rule over all things, this is a deeper peace that comes from the greatest King of all, reigning over all. creation. This is Christ the King, prophet, priest, king. All the offices, you could say, were instituted in the Old Testament because they really mattered and they played a role for the time and the context that they were first given in, but the ultimate purpose for the role of prophet and priest and king was to prepare the way for the greatest prophet, priest, and king. For every prophet, priest, and king of old, either sinned, was a failure, or was not enough on their own. Only Jesus perfectly, fully, and finally, flawlessly executed all these roles and they all find the pinnacle in Him. So, soulless Christus still matters. As I've done every time, I have ended with an illustration from Martin Luther's life. Let's do another one tonight to answer this question about why soulless Christus is still important. Once Martin Luther began seeing the power of the gospel, grace, and the powerlessness of his own works to save, he was very young at this time. He had just, well, he had not done it yet, but he was still learning these things. He heard of a famous preacher coming to town and he just arrived in Wittenberg and was setting up a stage and his name was John Tetzel. Tetzel came into the town square and he would preach a message like this. Martin Luther would hear this firsthand. Good people of Wittenberg, have you not at one time or another burned your hand in the fire and felt it torment you day and night? How greatly you ought to fear then the fires of hell, which are able to burn and torment your soul for all eternity. Your Pope, Pope Leo X offers you grace for the building of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Tonight and only tonight, you can snatch any loved one or rescue yourself from the fires of hell for a few coins. For when a coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs. This was Tetzel's sermon, short to the point and entirely heretical. The technical term for this is an indulgence and Tetzel just so happened to be the most famous indulgence preacher of the 16th century, leading up to the times of the Reformation. Luther heard this firsthand and was vexed in his soul. Why? Because Tetzel's message was clear. Give money to the Pope for the building of this new building and you will be saved. In response to Tetzel's preaching, Luther wrote his famous 95 Theses and posted it on the church door in Wittenberg and he wrote many other numerous books against the preaching of John Tetzel and the wicked doctrines of the Pope's past and present. For writing 95 Theses and all the other books that he did, Pope Leo X sent Luther a written warning called a papal bull, a warning that if you do not repent or recant of your writings, you will be excommunicated from the Holy Catholic Church. Luther responded after receiving this letter by publicly burning the letter. Very Luther-like, right? In the following Sunday, after burning this letter publicly before the townspeople, he said this in his sermon, yes, you've heard it's true, I've been summoned to Rome. While I'm gone, remember, we obsess about indulgences. God is not an angry God who only wants your money. Those who see God as angry do not see Him rightly. If we truly believe that Christ is our Savior and we have a God of love and to see God in faith is to look on His friendly heart. So when the devil throws your sins in your face and declares that you deserve death and hell, tell him this, I admit that I deserve death and hell. what of it? For I know one who suffered and made satisfaction in my behalf. His name is Jesus Christ, Son of God, and where he is one day I shall be also." So you see how in Luther's sermon his response to the indulgence preaching of John Tetzel was to say that Christ's work and nothing that we do, Christ's work alone saves. Now why does this still matter today? You may think that the preaching of indulgences was a thing of the past, but you would be mistaken. The Roman Catholic Church not only still uses and still offers indulgences of all kinds, but the current Pope still upholds the practice. Remember, when an indulgence is offered, what's being communicated is that if you do this, if you go here on this pilgrimage, if you give this amount or that amount of money, you will be saved from the fires and the torment of hell. There seems in this theology no place for Christ standing forth as true prophet, true priest, and true king. The center of Tetzel's preaching is that you save yourself when you contribute money to the Pope. In 1992, Joseph Carl Ratzinger, or Pope Benedict, rewrote the Catholic's official catechism. He did not remove the whole section on indulgences, that was affirmed throughout the ages, and he rewrote it, put it in. It's still affirmed today. To date, the Roman Catholic Church has never denied the preaching or teaching or practice of the indulgence. Luther heard this and it vexed his soul, because the work of Christ was put aside for the work of man. And the same is true today in one of the largest so-called Christian denominations in the world. It ought to vex us that the work of Christ is thrust aside for the work of man. He alone is true prophet, true king, and true priest. We need to return to solus Christus. So what I said in the beginning, I say again, when we turn to this particular sola of the five, we come to the linchpin, the hub, the apex, and the center of all Reformation and biblical theology. Christ is the glory of sola scriptura, for he alone is the Word made flesh, and he alone is the interpretive end of all Scripture. Christ is the glory of sola gratia, for he alone is the grace of God personified. Christ is the glory of sola fide, for he alone is the object of saving faith, and Christ is the glory of sola Deo gloria, for he alone is the radiance of the glory of God. Far be it from any of us to think that the Reformation or any theology that comes out of it boasts a label of Reformed or Luther or Calvin or any other famous man or woman of history. We need to be vexed if any man-centeredness comes into our doctrine, because if it comes in the middle of it, it removes Christ from it. It's his work and his work alone that brings us back to God. We have no need for any other prophet to provide us with new revelation. We have no need for any other priest to mediate between us and God, and we have no need for any other king to rule God's church, for Christ is prophet, priest, and king. He alone stands at the center of God's eternal purposes, and thus Christ and Christ alone must stand at the center of all of our life and doctrine in the church. Amen.

Sola Fide

Romans chapter 1, verses 16 and 17 say the following. 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. For in it, it being the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith as it is written. The righteous shall live by faith. This passage is not only the distinctive theme of Pauls letter to the Romans, we could go further to say that this passage could be viewed as a summary, a two verse summary of Pauls entire theology. Pauls entire theology, its all about the gospel, that in the gospel, we see Gods power and those who believe grab hold of this power, grab hold of this God, not by works, not by what they do, but by faith. They find it by faith and they then live by faith. This is a massive text to lean into. I want to ask three questions of this passage and hopefully provide you three answers to these questions. Question one, why is Paul eager to preach the gospel in Rome? If you just back up one verse, in Romans chapter 1 verse 15 he says, so I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. Why is Paul eager to preach the gospel to Christians who live in Rome? Dont they as Christians already know the gospel? Havent they already believed the gospel? Well apparently, the answer is yes, of course, but apparently Paul thinks the gospel is something that Christians need to hear just as much as he knows that the gospel is something that non-Christians need to hear because for Paul, the gospel itself is not just a call for the lost to be saved, the gospel is a call for the saved to keep on living by faith. So this is why Paul is eager to preach the gospel in Rome. Rome, peculiar, special context for this letter. He would have known about all the immoral activity and social issues that were present and going on in Rome. Why didnt he want to address those things? I mean, Rome was a city full of slavery. Didnt Paul want to focus on the dignity of life? Rome was a city full of immorality. Didnt he want to focus on the proper use of Gods gift in sex? Rome was a city of economic prejudice. Didnt Paul want to focus on the right use of means? Rome was a city of war. Didnt Paul want to focus on the right use of might and just war? Rome was a city with all kinds of sin and social grievances. So didnt Paul want to preach a gospel that was applicable to social realities? No. The first thing he says here, I am not ashamed of the gospel. I find this really encouraging. I think the Roman Christians are very much like you and I. They lived in a time when Rome was advanced and advancing. The tide of culture was always seemingly coming in, strongly pushing an agenda out to every citizen to get in line with where were headed or be tossed to the lions in the Colosseum. In contrast to the power and the might and the opinion that Rome had of itself, nothing would have looked more foolish than a new up-and-coming religion that had at its centerpiece a crucified Savior. Yet, Paul says, Im not ashamed of the gospel. Held in this statement is his honest confession. Hes tempted with being ashamed of the gospel. I think the Roman context is very similar to our modern-day context. This is a note from 2017, but it still rings true today, every year the prestigious University, Oxford University, holds something thats called the Freshers Fair. This is where new incoming freshmen can see all the student activities and the student organizations that will be open to them on campus and their life there as a student. But in 2017 something new happened in Oxford University. They banned every Christian group from setting up a table at the fair and they said this in doing so. We recognize the wonderful advantages in having Christian representatives at the Freshers Fair, but we are concerned that there is potential for harm to incoming freshmen who are already struggling to feel welcome here at Oxford. Christianitys influence on many marginalized communities has been damaging in its methods of conversion and rules of practice, and it is still used in many places in the world today as an excuse for homophobia and certain forms of neo-colonialism. This is not fake news. Thats a real quote. It feels very first century Roman. Can you imagine incoming freshmen at Oxford hearing that, recognizing theres going to be no Christian organizations at this Freshers Fair, and being tempted to be ashamed of the gospel? This is something of Pauls heart here in verse 16. As the Romans were then, so are we now. Tempted to be ashamed of the gospel because the tide of the culture pushes against us. But again, in the face of this, Paul said he is unashamed. And so for his faith, Paul would be imprisoned, chased out of town, laughed at, regarded as a fool, stoned. In the face of all this, he boldly declared to the Romans that he would not bow the knee to Romes agenda, that his deepest allegiance lies to the Lord no matter if it puts him at odds with the Romans that think they know the most important things in the world. He knows the Romans need Christ, and so hes not ashamed of the gospel. This is one reason why Paul is so eager to preach the gospel to those in Rome, because hes not ashamed of it. Now all thats just kind of introduction. I remember were talking about Sola Fide. Look at where the verse goes in the rest of verse 16. This is our second question. Our first one was, why is Paul eager to preach in Rome? Second, why is Paul unashamed of the gospel? The rest of verse 16 gives the answer. For I am not ashamed of the gospel. Why? For it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. So why is Paul not ashamed of the gospel? Because the gospel is power. The gospel is power. The word power in Greek is the word dunamis. Do you hear any other words in the word dunamis? What do you hear? Dynamite? What else? Sorry? Do? Okay. Do it. Just do it. Dynamites the main one, but we also get dynamic. Dynamic. These words come from this old ancient Greek word dunamis. It means that the gospel itself is power to actually do something. The gospel is not just a story, not a set of rules, not a philosophical system. Its power. And its not just vague power. Its a specific kind of power. The very power of God. We cant miss this. In the gospel, there is a power that lifts man out of and above the temptations of cowardice, shame, and fear. The very content of the gospel message itself creates a peaceful boldness, a power in us, wherever we find ourselves to be. But what does this power do? Right? Power is employed for something, for a purpose. In verse 16, what is What does the power do? The gospel is the power of God for salvation. The gospels power is a power that saves sinners. Its a power that rescues, redeems, and transforms the soul. Who is this gospel power intended to save? Not all people. Not those who are born into certain families. Not those who live in certain countries. Not those who have certain skin color or are of a certain class in society. Not even those who try to work their hardest to earn salvation. The gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. Everyone who believes to the Jew first and to the Greek. To the biblical mindset, there are many ways to answer this question, but there are two kinds of people. Theres the Jew and the Greek. Theres the old covenant people of God, the Jews, the nation of Israel, new covenant, out to the nations. Thats what the word Greek is intended there. The nations, the ethnos. What comes forth in a strong clarity is this word believe right here in verse 16. The power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. This is faith. This is the centrality of faith. So faith therefore, what is faith? It doesnt just know the right things, though there are right things to know. Faith doesnt just agree that those right things are right and true, even though we agree that those right things are right and true. Faith is not a sort of naming or claiming something for ourselves, no. True faith is more than just knowledge, more than just agreement with that knowledge. Its a laying hold of that knowledge and banking our salvation on it. Its a trust. Its a clinging to this knowledge. True faith lays hold of the power of God in the gospel and clings to Christ as He stands forth in the gospel. This is a whole souled confidence in the God who not only makes commands and demands of us, but the God who also approves and provides all that is needed for our salvation in His Son, the Lord Jesus. So in this we see so much. We see two massive things coming out. The power of God breaking into the plight of man. This is why Paul is not ashamed of the gospel. This is why hes eager to encourage the Romans to not be ashamed of the gospel. And this is why I dont want any of you to be ashamed of the gospel either. No one need blush at being the recipient of such power in the gospel of God received and rested in by faith alone. Paul proclaimed Christ in Corinth, the self-proclaimed wisest city in the ancient world. He proclaimed Christ to be the very wisdom of God. How ironic then in the self-proclaimed city of the mightiest city in the ancient world in Rome, to them, Paul says, Christ is the power of God for salvation. The gospel is the power of God. This leads to our last question. We looked at verse 16 with two questions, now one question for verse 17. Why is the gospel the power of God for salvation? Look at verse 17. For in it, for in the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith as it is written, the righteous shall live by faith. So the gospel is the power of God for salvation because in the gospel a righteousness is revealed. What kind of righteousness is this in verse 17? Is it the attribute of Gods righteousness in view that He always does what is right and that He Himself is the standard of all rightness in the world and that Hes always faithful to His promises? No. Could it be our own righteousness in view that we are Have we ourselves, by our works and merit, earned a righteousness that puts us in right standing with God? No. Then what is it? What is this righteousness in view? Its none other than the righteousness that God requires of us, demands of us, but freely gives to us in the gospel of Christ. It begs the question, though, how is this righteousness given to us? And this is what verse 17 answers, Paul says it, from faith for faith. As it is written, the righteous shall live by faith. Here Paul, to make his point, he reaches back to the minor prophet, hed probably not be appreciative of that title, but Habakkuk chapter 2 verse 4. In that context, the prophet Habakkuk is calling Gods people to have faith in God in the face of impending exile brought on by the Babylonians. In faith, in face of such wrath and judgment thats coming on to them, the prophet Habakkuk says, have faith, live by faith. Paul uses these words and applies it to his own purposes in his letter to the Romans to call Gods people to a kind of posture toward the Lord, a posture of faith. So just as Israel of old would have had to live by faith back then, so too we must live by faith now. Just as the wrath of the Babylonians was almost upon them then, look what comes in the rest of chapter 1 right after this verse. The wrath of God coming on to sinners. What must we do in the face of such wrath against sin? Live by faith in Christ revealed in the gospel. And so yes, we want to say the great exchange is great and glorious. God for our sake made Christ to be sin who knew no sin that we in Christ might become the righteousness of God, 2 Corinthians 5, 21. So the blood of Jesus washes our sin away finally and forever, but were not just washed white as snow and the slate cleaned. It is filled back up with the righteousness of Christ, His own righteousness. As Jesus gets our sin and bore the curse that we deserve, we get His righteousness and get the approval that He earned, not that we earned. So the gospel is the power of God for salvation because in the gospel, Christs righteousness is not only revealed, its received by faith alone. From faith for faith, the righteous shall live by faith. This is sola fide or justification by faith alone, the great doctrine that was recovered one of in the Reformation time. As Ive tried to do in each of these studies, I want to do here again this evening with you and conclude with a story of Luthers. Specifically this one, Luthers conversion story. Its a wonderful story that we can learn a lot from that has everything to do with Romans 1, 16 and 17. Many of the answers to really pivotal and common questions about the nature of salvation are all put on display in Luthers conversion story. So let me get into it. Luther knew the Catholic doctrines well. That the way one would be saved and come into a right standing with God is a combination through Gods grace and mans work. This is what the Catholic church taught. This is what they still teach today. As a young monk, Luther was acutely aware of his many sins. Try and try as he may, he never felt that he was good enough because Gods law demanded perfection and he could not meet such demands. So he would spend hours in the confessional booth and one time he spent six hours confessing sins. I mean, if you just pause right there and think, I mean, has any modern Christian even spent six hours in their life confessing sin? Theres something here we need to learn. Even though Luther is in agony and in despair, theres something healthy about his confession. He spent six hours confessing sins, but that occasion ended in more despair because he realized as he exited the booth that there might be sins hes committed that hes not aware of, and so he panicked and he thought this to himself, quote, sins to be forgiven must be confessed. To be confessed, these sins must be recognized and remembered. If these sins are not recognized and remembered, they cannot be confessed. If these sins are then not confessed, they cannot be forgiven. This caused a panic in Luther as he exited the confession booth and his mentor just happened to walk by at the right time, saw him. His name was Johann Staupitz. He noticed this and he told Luther to see God as love by looking to Christ. Luther responded with this quote, God out of mere delight hardens men and damns them to eternity. Is this who is said to be full of such mercy and goodness? This is cruel. This is intolerable. You want me to love God? I hate God. His mentor responded by just walking away. You dont reason with Luther when hes in such a temper. He probably knew this, but he then did the unthinkable. He promoted Martin Luther to the position of professor in the Wittenberg University there, and Luther would begin his doctoral studies. He was tasked as he began all this with teaching through the Psalms and teaching through Pauls letter to the Romans. This is when the great moment came. In studying Romans chapter one, he got to verse 16 and 17, and this was his conversion moment. Many people describe this. Ill just give it to you from the authorized biography, Roland Bainton, Here I Stand. This is how he describes this moment. In Luthers own words, I longed, I greatly longed to understand Pauls letter to the Romans and nothing stood in the way but this one expression, the righteousness of God. In Romans 1, 17. I took this to mean that the righteousness of God in punishing the wicked, and my situation was just that. I was an impeccable monk, but I stood before God as a sinner, troubled, having no confidence in my own works. Therefore, I did not love this just God and this angry God. I hated him and I murmured against him, yet I clung to the apostle Paul, longing to know what he meant. Night and day, I pondered until I saw the connection between the righteousness of God and the phrase, the righteous shall live by faith. Then I grasped that the righteousness of God is the righteousness by which through grace and mercy, God justifies the wicked by faith. It is then that I felt myself reborn and have gone through open doors into paradise. So for Luther, he learned and discovered for the first time in his life the place of works in the Christian life. He knew that works didnt save, but they show how one has been saved. He knew that works arent the foundation of our salvation, but theyre the necessary consequence of it. He knew that were not saved by good works, but he knew that we are saved unto good works. And so for Luther and for the rest of the Reformers, the faith that saves is faith alone, sola fide, but they all confessed faith is never alone. The faith that saves is faith alone, but faith is never alone, for true faith produces works. Fast forward to today. I think we affirm this mentally, and maybe even outwardly, we sing songs about this, but internally and practically, we live as if we didnt believe it. We live as if were a frog that has just fallen into a jar of milk. Follow me. Thats weird, I know. But after realizing that this frog cannot jump out of the jar, it does the only thing that it can do. It paddles and paddles and paddles and paddles until slowly but surely, the milk is churned into butter and we get out of the jar. We say that amazing grace is one of our favorite hymns, but deep down, I think many of us just believe that if we do our best, well get to heaven one day, and nothing could be farther from the truth. We need to return to repent to Scripture again to see that our works on their best day are still filthy rags before a holy God. Our works are not enough to make us right with God. We cannot do enough, so we ought to despair of our own efforts. But through despairing, we should not lose hope because of Christ. His work is always enough for us. So we have faith in Him, not ourselves. This is how were saved. Faith alone saves. We trust in Christ, not ourselves. So when Pauls later writing to the Corinthians, he says, what we proclaim to you is not ourselves, but Christ. Because in Him, we have faith, and this church is our confidence. Not in our own works, but in Christ. We have faith in Christ. May we always boast in sola fide, faith alone, because its through faith, the means by which the sinner grab holds of the power of the gospel, of Christ Himself, and finds salvation upon belief. This is sola fide. Can you imagine how loud this would have hit, how loud this would have been heard in a context where, late medieval age, all you did was work hard to be saved by God in the end? And then here comes Luther and says, the one who despairs of your own works, but trusts in the work of Christ, that one is saved, though they never lift a finger. This is why Luther was, there was a bounty put on his head. It was incendiary in that context. And maybe weve just heard it enough, weve lost the incendiary nature of this. It explodes good works, but ironically shows us what good works are all about, because the faith that saves is faith alone, but faith is never alone. It produces all manner of works that are pleasing to God. May we grab hold of the great gospel power of God by faith. Amen. Thoughts, questions, challenges, concerns, all of the above.