Romans 1:16-17
Thrust: God
Accomplishes God’s Purposes
Introduction:
The book, The Fall of Fortresses, conveys a B-17 crew member’s story
of a bombing run over a German city: Our
B-17 was barraged by flak from Nazi antiaircraft guns. That was not unusual,
but on this particular occasion our gas tanks were hit. Later, as I reflected
on the miracle of a 20-millimeter shell piercing the fuel tank without touching
off an explosion, our pilot, Bohn Fawkes, told me it was not quite that simple.
On the morning following the raid, Bohn had asked our crew chief for the shell
as a souvenir. The crew chief told him that not just one shell but 11 had been
found in the gas tanks. But, the rest f the story is even more amazing. The 11
shells had been sent to the armorers to be defused. When the armorers opened
each of the shells, they found no explosive charge. They were clean as a
whistle and just as harmless. But, not all were empty. One contained a
carefully rolled piece of paper with a note written in
Sometimes Christians serve God with the enthusiasm and
expectations of those Checzs. They show no enthusiasm and they don’t expect any
results from their service because they believe themselves to be powerless to
accomplish the task. But, when it comes to the most important job in the
universe, the work of salvation, God ensures that the job gets done because God
accomplishes God purposes. And God has chosen to accomplish his purposes by
involving humans in his work, by providing power for the work and
by eliciting participation in his work of salvation?
God Involves Humans:
Ephesians 1:4, “ For he chose us
in him before the creation of the world…”[2]
It’s very gratifying to be chosen to do a special job or to serve in a special
position. But, too often, some believe that having been chosen means that at
last our gifts and talents have been recognized. We like to be chosen, but we
like to be chosen on the basis of something attractive found in us.
I remember in high school each year
after football season, we guys would gather on Sunday afternoons to play
football. Before each game, we determined who would be on each team. We elected
team captains who would choose whom they wanted on their team. I could predict
who the first players chosen would be. Players were chosen on the basis of
their size, speed, agility, and aggressiveness.
If you are in Christ, God chose you
before you had a chance to demonstrate your skills, before you had an
opportunity to even attempt to prove your worthiness. In Romans 9, Paul speaks
of the twins, Jacob and Essau, saying, “But before they were born, before
they had done anything good or bad, [God chose Jacob over his older brother
Essau proving] that God chooses according to his own plan, 12 not
according to our good or bad works.”[3]
If you are in Christ, God has chosen you on the basis of God’s plan, not your
efforts. And by so doing, God has involved you in the work of salvation. It is
not at all that God needs you. Indeed, as Karl Barth says, if he were not God,
he would be ashamed of you.[4]
There comes a time in life when God
calls us to himself. That is there comes a time when God reveals to us the
truth that we belong to God. 2 Corinthians 4:6 uses the “light” metaphor
to describe God’s call upon our lives. It says, “6 For God, who
said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to
give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”[5]
God reveals our election by
confronting us with an inexplicable light that shines in our hearts. In other
words, we are surprised by grace. Suddenly, without personal effort, without
solicitation, we find ourselves living in light rather than darkness. And in
the light of his presence, we find ourselves involved in the work of salvation.
God involves us in his work of salvation by choosing us and by calling us.
God Provides Power:
Secondly, God provides the power by
which we become aware of our sinfulness and of God’s holiness. It is by God’s
power that sinful humans, who have absolutely no capacity to reach out to God, are
reached out to by God and caused to
live out their election. It is the same power by which God brought Jesus
forth from the grave and declared him to be the Son of God – it is resurrection
power.
Resurrection power overcomes death, gives
life, and begins the process of re-creation. Paul wrote in Colossians 2:13, “You
were dead because of your sins…. Then God made you alive with Christ.” [6]
Once there was a brier growing in a
ditch and a gardener came along with his spade. As he dug around it and lifted
it up the brier said to itself, "What
is he doing? Doesn't he know I am a worthless brier?" But the gardener
took it into his garden and planted it amid his flowers, while the brier said,
"What a mistake he has made planting
me among these beautiful roses." Then the gardener came once more and
made a slit in the brier with his sharp knife. He grafted it with a rose and
when summer came lovely roses were blooming on that old brier. Then the
gardener said, "Your beauty is not
due to what came out but to what I put in."[7]
If you are in Christ, it is because
of God’s input, not your output. If you are in Christ, God has taken the
initiative to apply resurrection power to your life. You are that blessed!
And resurrection power is conveyed to
our lives through the gospel. To the person who does not believe, the
idea that the gospel has the power of eternal life seems foolish? 1
Corinthians
Yet, it is the subject matter of the gospel
message that conveys resurrection power. Resurrection power, the power of God
to save humans, flow from the benefits of Jesus Christ’s life, death,
resurrection and ascension. That is the gospel – and that is good news!
The purpose for our having been chosen
by God is to declare the good news to the world. If we are not doing that, we
are not accomplishing the purpose for which we were chosen and called.
That’s why we can serve with
enthusiasm. That why we can know that we serve with power – because we serve,
not by our own power but by the power of God. That’s why, in every decision the leadership
of JCPC makes, we must ask, “How will
this decision proclaim the gospel?” We exist to extend the blessings we
receive to the world. God involves humans into his work of salvation and
provides power for the accomplishment of God’s work.
The gospel reveals the
righteousness of God. In other words, the power of the gospel brings to our
hearts and minds awareness that the
God’s goodness, the only
righteousness that can stand the test of eternity comes to us as a gift. But
the gift is not what most of us think of when we think, “gift”. It is
not a gift in the sense that it was once God’s possession, which has now become
our possession. It is a gift only in the sense that we become recipients of its
benefits free of any personal merit. It is God’s righteousness and it
remains the possession of God. Yet, by faith God credits it to our
otherwise bankrupt accounts.
To stand justified before God means to live by the
righteousness of God. To live by
faith means that by the power of God, we become and remain aware of
our own bankrupt righteousness and live in gratitude to God for God’s act of
grace. To live by faith means to have been dead in our trespasses and sins and
to have been given new life through the power of resurrection.
God’s righteousness is “a
righteousness that is by faith from first to last”. God’s claim upon
our lives is a call to continued growth in submission to the righteous-ness of
God. Therein is the act of participation in the life of God.
We are called by faith to life-long
participation in or imitation of the righteousness of God. Ephesians 5:1 says
“…be imitators of God, as beloved children.”
Conclusion:
Sometimes
service to God does not occur because believers think of ourselves as
inadequate for the task. And do you know what – we are! And that is the major
point of this message. God
doesn’t need us, but God has chosen to involve us in his work. He chose you before
you had a chance to claim that you did anything to earn God’s favor. He has
made your election known by calling you by the power of resurrection, through
the gospel of Christ. And by that power, God grants us the gift of faith and
credits us with his righteousness. God has done that for us to carry on his
work of salvation through participate in God’s life. We do so when we present
the gospel to others who, through its resurrecting power, might become children
of God as well.
What does it mean to you to know that
God is at work in your life and that God desires to accomplish God’s purposes
through you?
[1] Attributed to “Elmer Bendiner, The Fall of
Fortresses.” at eSermons.com
[2] Ephesians 1:4 - The New
International Version, (
[3] Romans 9:11, 12 –
paraphrased from the Holy Bible: New Living Translation. 1997. Tyndale
House:
[4] “God does not need us…” -
Karl Barth, Translated by Edwyn C. Hoskyns, The Epistle To The Romans (
[5] 2 Corinthians 4:6 - The
New International Version, (
[6] Colossians
[7] Attributed to “Source Unknown” at eSermons.com
[8] 1 Corinthians
[9] “The greatest wisdom of humanity”
– Adapted from Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary.
1983- c1985. The Bible Knowledge
Commentary : An exposition of the scriptures . Victor Books:
[10] The impact of the gospel
upon humans - Dr. Merwyn S. Johnson, Resource Materials for the Study of
Basic Christian Theology: Prepared for the Benefit of Students in Historical
and Theological Foundations II (ST 02C) and Systemmatic Theology (ST 15T),
(Erskine Theological Seminary:Spring 1998)
[11] Hebrews 4:12-13: The New
International Version, (
[12] Charles Swindoll’s book, Strengthening
Your Grip quoted on eSermons.com