Don't Suppress The Good News
Don’t Suppress the Good News
The Good News is being censored. Every last news channel has been ridiculed for being one-sided and suppressing the truth. Their biases tend to get in the way and they blind people from seeing every side of the story. Many times the good that goes on is concealed in favor of showing the bad.
Sometimes that bad news is even portrayed as being a good thing. This is what the enemy tries to do with the gospel. He tries to convince people to suppress the good news of the gospel. That's what we're talking about on this episode of the Grafted podcast…Don't suppress the good news.
Welcome to the Grafted podcast. I'm your host, Adam Weatherly. I want to help encourage you to have an act of faith, to engage in God's word, and to discover your purpose in life. In each episode we will examine verses from the Bible, find their original meaning, and apply them to our lives today. Each message will end with growth point questions for us to think about. Let's dove into this installment of the Grafted Podcast.
How's it going, everyone? Welcome to the Grafted podcast, where we help you develop your faith through God's word. I'm your host, Adam Weatherly. And today we are starting a new journey together in the book of Romans. This episode is called Don't Suppress the Good News. Now, before we dig into the book of Romans to our lesson for today, I want to give you a quick overview.
Romans… A Quick Overview
The book of Romans, it was a letter that was written by Paul during his third missionary journey. Paul had never ministered in Rome, and so he wanted to write them and ask them to come and minister there. And he did that while he was on his three month stay in Corinth.
He wanted the church in Rome to be his launching point. He was looking to take the gospel westward into Spain, and he hoped that the church in Rome would consider helping to sustain his ministry while he headed out west.
Man, Paul was a missionary. And this is one of the things and one of the reasons why missionaries itinerate and fundraise the way that they do today. The church in Rome consisted mainly of gentiles, but it also had some strong Jewish believers as well.
Paul had heard that there were some squabbles over cultural issues between the Jewish and the Gentile believers. This also led to several problems where unbiblical ideas were being taught that needed to be corrected. Paul wanted to help unify the believers in Rome and did that by presenting them with some of the most in-depth theology that he had
ever written. We're going to start our study in the book of Romans in Chapter one verses 16 through 18. The first part of Chapter one in verses one through 15, Paul is introducing himself and his ministry to the leaders of the Roman Church.
And he shares about how he wanted to come and visit and encouraged them. Now, I do want to say through this journey, through the book of Romans, I'm not going to cover every verse going verse by verse. I'm going to pick out what I feel like are key verses that we need to learn from.
And so I encourage you to go and read the book of Romans for yourself from beginning to end and study it for yourself. And I'm just here to help guide that study through what I feel like are important issues that we need to talk about.
Romans 1:16-18
So Romans Chapter 1 verses 16 through 18 says,
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 the righteousness of God is revealed from start to finish by faith as it is written, the righteous shall live by faith, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all, and godliness and unrighteousness of men who, by their unrighteousness, suppress the truth.
Main Idea
The main idea in these verses is don't suppress the truth. The good news of Jesus Christ is nothing we should be ashamed of or embarrassed about. Instead, we should be shamelessly confident in it. It is through the gospel that the power of God makes us right. And through our faith, it brings us eternal life. As we live out our faith, we will experience the power, wisdom, and goodness of God.
Part 1: Not Ashamed
Paul starts off by saying, I am not ashamed of the gospel. I think it's safe to say that every last one of us have done something at one point or another that we are ashamed of or embarrassed about.
Some of these things are because we were being stupid, like the kid at the swimming pool who jumps off the high dove and loses his swimming trunks because he refused to tie the waistband. Other times, we're ashamed of things due to cultural experiences and expectations.
This is like when everyone in their dog is watching the newest Netflix series. It may be extremely well written and well filmed, but you don't watch it because it's rated TV, M.A. And you know, there's a ton of gory violence, foul language, graphic nudity, and things that you just don't want to see.
This happened to me when everyone was watching Game of Thrones. I had a coworker that said she knows of other Christians who are watching it. So I needed to quit being so prudish, chill out and watch it anyways. To this day, I still have not seen a single episode of that series because of my personal convictions.
When Paul wrote the letter to the Roman Church, when somebody accepted Jesus during that time, it meant that they might bring shame to their families and possibly their community that they lived in.
Sometimes this meant being thrown out of the family and even put to death. Christians were afraid of what might happen to them if others found out about their beliefs because of this, they suppressed the good news in their faith.
Now, why exactly was that for the Jews? This was viewed as putting aside or even rejecting their culture and family. For the pagans, it was the same, but it was also rejecting the ancestral family gods. It had a bigger impact than what it does on our culture today.
Today in America, someone may ridicule you or think that you have fallen for something that seems foolish. But back then, it was viewed as disrespect and rejection.
There was a Muslim woman who moved to Spain while we were there with her family when she first moved in. She had the cable guy come to install TV into their apartment, and he asked her what all stations that she wanted. And so she said she wanted all of the Arabic language channels. There were only two or three of these channels, so it was really easy for the technician. One day, as she was flipping through the TV channels, the only station that had anything playing on it was a Christian channel. So she began watching the station during the day when she was at home because it was the only thing on that she could actually understand. It was in Arabic. She didn't dare tell her husband or her two adult sons who were living there as well. After several months of watching all the Bible studies and sermons on the Christian Channel, she responded to a presentation of the gospel and accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord, God, and savior. One day she forgot to change the channel before turning the TV off. And when her husband came home, he turned on the TV and he couldn't believe what he saw. There was a Bible study going on and it was on a Christian channel. He confronted his wife about it, so she told him everything she had been watching and about how she became a Christian. Due to her newfound faith in Christ, her husband humiliated her by taking away everything that she owned. He divorced her and threw her out on the street. Her own two sons wouldn't even help take care of her, and they disowned her as well. She had nowhere to turn but the church, and it was the church who helped her get back up on her feet. And today, she's living and serving God in her local congregation.
Paul used the word ashamed to mean humiliate or put to shame. Paul endured persecution everywhere he went because he told the truth about Jesus to everyone. Paul boldly stated that he would continue sharing the whole gospel regardless of how he was treated.
He wanted the church leaders in Rome to know that he was bold in his faith and he was not going to suppress the good news of the gospel. And he wasn't afraid of the shame, ridicule, or disapproval of others that came because of the gospel.
Paul also knew that Jesus said in Mark Chapter 8 verses 38, for whoever is ashamed of me, in my words, in this adulterous and sinful generation of him, will the son of man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels?
You see because Paul loved Jesus and the good news of the gospel so much. There was no reluctance for him to preach the full truth of the gospel. One thing that Paul understood is that the power of God is shown through the good news of the gospel.
We may not face the same kind of persecution that the woman in our story faced or even that the people were facing in Paul's day. More than likely, what will come up against is the question in the back of our minds, what are others going to think if they know I'm a Christian?
Part 2: The Power of God
Verse 16, the second half of it says,
For the power of God is salvation to everyone who believes the power of God is shown through Jesus being raised from the dead in order to conquer not only death, but sin and hell as well.
This is the power of God to save people from their own demise, from their own wicked human nature. This is why it's called good news. People who believe and have faith in Jesus will enjoy the benefits of God's power in their lives.
First Corinthians chapter 1, verse 18, says,
for the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved. It is the power of God. The power of God saves us from our wicked human nature.
The power of God saves us from our wicked human nature. God's power in the gospel is the life-giving message to a lost and dying world. This was a problem for the Jews and the Gentiles. The Jews thought the Messiah would reign as an earthly king during their time for the Gentiles.
This power was offensive because it turns people away from their pagan gods. But for those who believed in the good news of Jesus Christ, the power of God came in the form of salvation and being made right with God before I became a believer.
I thought going to church, singing worship songs, and listening to his sermon was totally foolish and a waste of time. But now, today, I understand what Jesus did and what he saved me from. He saved me from my own wickedness today, believing in Jesus. For me, it's extremely logical in something that is worth doing.
Part 3: God Makes Us Right!
You see the good news. It shows us how we all fall short of God's standards. And this is seen in verse 17 that says,
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from start to finish by faith, as it is written,
By faith, God's righteousness is revealed through the gospel. Righteousness here refers to God being holy right. And just. It shows that God is honorable and morally just in his actions.
The gospel shows us the character. Of God in how separated we are from him. This means that in our human nature we are guilty, unjust, and wicked. This is otherwise known as being sinful by sin from start to finish, by faith.
Paul challenges the Jewish thought process that righteousness only comes by keeping the law. The Jews were the first to believe in the one true God. But they became so legalistic that they tossed their relationship with God out the window.
Now, Paul isn't referring to living a perfect life like the Jews thought. In fact, that is impossible. Instead, he is referring to having a right relationship with God. This is why salvation is both for the Jew and the Gentile.
God makes us right in his eyes through the good news of Jesus Christ. This relationship begins as we respond in faith to the good news. Our response in faith is a process that continues throughout our entire lives. My response to faith happened on April 4th of 2004.
That was the day that God made me right in his eyes. Ever since then, my life has been an ongoing process of growing in faith. Now, I'll admit that there was a short time where I was so legalistic that I neglected my relationship with God.
But thankfully, God pulled me out of that. And now my relationship with him is stronger than ever. And it has been growing ever since.
Part 4: The Righteous Live By Faith
Once we've heard the good news and believe in the gospel, our faith begins to mold our behavior.
The second part of verse 17 says,
as it is written, the righteous shall live by faith.
Paul is directly referring to Habakkuk, chapter 2, verse 4, where it says, “Look at the proud they trust in themselves and their lives are crooked. But the righteous person will live by faith.”
This sounds like a lot of people that we know today. It's also a major part of the secularist movement that's happening around the United States in Europe today. People are extremely arrogant. They only trust in what they can do for themselves and they end up living outside of God's will for their lives. For those of us who have faith, we get to experience complete trust and confidence in the power, wisdom, and goodness of God.
People who truly live by faith are not proud. They don't trust themselves. And their lives are not crooked because they have aligned themselves with God and his word. Faith in God leads us to put our faith in action by obeying God's word, especially in obeying what Jesus taught about the greatest commandment in Matthew Chapter 22 verses 36 through 40. The sweetened condensed version is simply to love God and love people. As we continue to live by faith, we will continue growing in maturity from one level to the next. This means that we won't suppress the gospel.
We do not suppress the good news. But instead, we grow in faith as we obey his word and do what we can to live up to his standard. However, God's wrath is revealed for those who choose to live outside of God's protection.
Part 5: Wrath Revealed
Just as God revealed his righteousness to us, He also revealed his wrath against evil. Verse 18, says,
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who, by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
Paul shares with the Roman Church that not only is he going to share the full truth of the gospel when he gets there, but he
will also share in the consequences of it as well. He reveals that the gospel is two-sided on one side. It's good news for those who respond in faith, but on the other. Well, it shows the wrath and the judgment of God for those who don't.
People who don't respond in faith to the good news, they continue in the opposite direction. Directly opposing God, God's wrath or punishment is not an emotional judgment like a lot of people think. It's actually a rational decision based on a person's decision to willfully choose to separate themselves from God.
Colossians chapter 3 verses 5 through 6, it mentions a few things that separate people from God and brings his wrath. These are things like sexual immorality, impurity, evil, desire and greed, just to name a few. Ephesians chapter five, verse six points out that the wrath of God will come on those.
Through their disobedience to God, whether it's through being hard-headed or having a hard heart when God's righteous judgment is revealed, those who are not believers will end up facing the wrath and anger of God, and they'll be punished consciously.
People still know the difference between right and wrong, but they encourage each other to abandon godliness, or, like verse 18 says, “to suppress the truth or suppressing the good news.” Because of this, people have become hostile towards God and they are ignorant of his ways.
They will eventually suffer the wrath and right judgment of God. I think that we all know people who are on a path that they really don't want to be on. In fact, I bet while you were listening to this last segment, a specific person came to mind.
We know that they're on their way to facing the wrath and the judgment of God. You see, we all have a decision to make. Are we going to respond to the good news of Jesus Christ in faith or are we going to suppress the truth and face his judgment?
Review
So to sum everything up, we should not suppress the good news. The good news of the gospel is something that we need to embrace and be shamelessly confident in. It's the power of God. It reveals our faith in Jesus Christ that brings us into a relationship with him and gives us eternal life in heaven.
From our first response to the good news in faith, God makes us right in his eyes and begins the process of maturing our faith for the rest of our lives as we grow closer to God. We will experience his power, his wisdom, and his goodness.
But on the other hand, if we choose to suppress the truth, well, it ain't going to be good for us.
Growth Points
So after everything that we've talked about today, I want to send you away with some growth points or some things to think about to help you grow in your faith. There are six of them for this episode.
Have you seen or heard the good news being suppressed?
Have you ever been in a situation where you have been ashamed of or embarrassed because of your faith? If so, what was the reason, and what was the outcome?
What types of things did the power of God save you from?
In the process of growing in faith and becoming closer to God, what changes have you seen God make in your life?
Think about the ways you have experienced the power, wisdom, and goodness of God. What are some of the situations that come to your mind?
Who are people that you know of who are hard-headed or hard-hearted towards the good news of Jesus Christ? What are some of the ways you can help them see the power and the salvation of God?
I hope you enjoyed this episode of the Grafted podcast. If you did, please help more people find it by liking, sharing, commenting, and subscribing.
My family serves as Assembly of God world missionaries, and our ministry is sustained through prayer and financial support from pastors, churches, and individuals like you. For more Bible teaching and to find out how you can become a ministry partner, please visit our website showing the world dot com.
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