Introduction

Gospel means “good news,” but some people are confused about what news we are talking about:

• Some people say that ‘heaven’ being a free gift is the gospel.  Heaven being a free gift is a byproduct of the gospel.  The gospel is something much greater.
• Some people say that ‘free forgiveness and escape from the punishment for sin’ is the gospel. That’s closer, but that is also a byproduct of the gospel and not the gospel itself.

The good news, the Gospel, which we are talking about this morning is simply this: Jesus conquered sin.  In order to understand the gospel, we must get a clear view of the evil of sin.

Let me first define what I mean by sin.  Sin is any thought, word, deed, action or attitude that falls short of God’s perfect standard.  It literally means to miss the mark of perfection – missed the bulls eye.

Sin dwells naturally in the heart of every man.  Romans 3:23 says, “²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  Without Christ, sin is continually defiling a person’s thoughts, words, actions and attitudes and he is POWERLESS to do ANYTHING about it.  We are naturally aware of our sin and at the same time, we naturally turn a blind eye toward the dire consequences of it.  We don’t tend to see sin for what it really is.  We often try to minimalize it:

• What’s a little white lie once in a while really going to do?
• You’re making a best deal over nothing…
• It’s not hurting anybody…

Satan would like nothing better than to diminish sin in our lives to the point that you and I pay no attention to the consequences of it at all.  Our natural attitude toward sin says, “So What?” “Everybody’s human” “Nobody’s perfect” “What is the big deal?”

Here’s what the big deal is:  The penalty for sin is eternal punishment and separation from God.  Without Christ, sin leaves us guilty in the sight of God without a way of escape. It’s a trap with no way out.  Sin creates a huge problem for you and I because God is Holy and He demands perfection.

God is Holy and He Demands Perfection

Jesus says that God’s standard is perfection.  Matthew 5:48 he says, “⁴⁸ You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”  God’s Law is intended to wake us up from the complacency of secular lives.  The intention of the law is to so clearly define God’s perfection that we find ourselves totally unable to measure up.

Compared to God’s standards, we are nothing but fallen creatures.  Sin has ruined mankind.  It is responsible for disease, pain, death, violence, divorce, financial ruin, fraud, deceit, theft, selfishness and war.  Sin has clouded our judgment.  It distorts our thinking.  It leaves us like a plane without a rudder spinning hopelessly out of control.   May God wake us up if we find ourselves comfortable in that position!

But worse yet, it puts us in God’s crosshairs as the very objects of His Holy and righteous wrath.  When God’s Word shows us the severity of our sin, it should make us shake in our boots.  I don’t want to protect you from that this morning.

My job as the pastor of this church is not to sugarcoat the issue by telling you not to worry about sin because “God has a wonderful plan for your life.”  When you and I realize that without Christ, judgment and wrath are being hurled in our direction, it forces us to plead with God for mercy and ask, “O Lord, can you save me from this mess that I am in?!”  That is a good place to be because:

Wisdom begins when we realize our dangerous position before a holy God.

Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.”  A fool says, “don’t tell me about the mess that I’m in.  I’m just fine.”  “Don’t tell me I’m in some plane about ready to crash.” But a wise man pleads with the Lord, “What must I do to be saved?!”

All Men are Sinners and God HATES Sin

God is not a respecter of persons when it comes to sin.  Verse 11 says, “…God shows no partiality.”  God does not give special consideration to people because of who they are.  He is perfectly just.  Verse 6 says that God renders to each according to his works and he does so perfectly.  The first thing that Paul wants us to understand about God’s justice is that God treats Jews and Gentiles on equal terms.  Let’s read verse 12:

¹² For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.

Let’s begin with the Jews.  The Jews were entrusted with the Law.  They knew the law inside out.  They memorized it.  They listened to teachings on it.  They sang songs about it.  They were saturated with the study and knowledge of the Law.  The Jews were well aware of God’s expectations for mankind.

However, knowing the law and doing the law are two different things.  Just because they knew the Law did not make them right with God.  God was not going to overlook the sins of anyone just because they were a Jew.  At the end of the chapter Paul explains that God is not going to overlook their sins just because they were circumcised.  In fact, their knowledge of the Law made them all the more aware of their need for a Savior and even more severely judged if they rejected Him.

Those Who Have the Law, are Accused by the Law

Verse 13 says, “¹³ For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.”  Just because the Jews had the law did not mean they were obeying the 10 Commandments.  Just knowing the law did not give them a means of escape.  Doers of the Law are the ones who are justified.

Being a “doer of the law” does not mean a man is saved by works.  A doer of the Law is someone who recognizes their sin and turns to God in repentance and faith.  Through the power of Christ, they are moving forward in their sanctification.  A doer of the Law may not be living perfectly, but increasingly.  They are in the process of sanctification.  There is tangible proof of their salvation in their lives and through their actions.  That’s what is means that “the doers of the law… will be justified.”

Now what about the people who do not know anything about the Law?  What about all the people who have never read the Bible?  Is it fair for God to Judge people who have never heard the gospel?  People in Paul’s time were asking that difficult question.  Here is his answer:

People Without the Law are Judged by What They DoKnow.

The morality people know instinctively, without the Law, is still enough to bring about God’s judgment.  Look at verse 14-16, “¹⁴ For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law.  ¹⁵ They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them ¹⁶ on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.”

Paul gives us three reasons why people without God’s Word or God’s law are still accountable before God for their actions.  The first one is:

#1 Creation points mankind to an awareness of God.

This truth was evident in our study of chapter 1.  Romans 1:20 says, “²⁰ For

Whether we look at the stars, at the mountains, at the sea or at mankind itself, Creation has the fingerprints of God all over it.

#2 Mankind’s conduct is based on an internal knowledge of God.

Verse 14 says, “¹⁴ For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law.”

God’s law is inborn.  Sometimes gentiles do things that are required by the law, even though they do not have the Law. Why is that?   Why do all people and all cultures have an inbred sense of ethics?

No civilized people live according to the “survival of the fittest.”  When the bully beats up a smaller kid on the playground, we don’t every say, “Well, that kid is bigger.  Survival of the fittest, baby.”  NO WAY.  We want justice.  We punish the bully.  The longing we have to be treated with kindness does not come from evolution… it comes from God.  In his book, Mere Christianity, CS Lewis put it this way:

“Everyone has heard people…say things like this: ‘How’d you like it if someone did the same to you?  ‘Give me a bit of your orange, I gave you a bit of mine’… [The man who says this] is appealing to some standard of behavior that he expects the other person to know about.”

So when people expect other people to “do the right thing,” they are not asking them to be the standard of morality.  They are not asking that person to do the right thing based on their ideas or thoughts or preferences or convenience.  They are referring to the higher sense of morality that is written on the hearts of all mankind.

The presence of this higher moral law, that every culture seems to know about and every judicial system is imperfectly based upon, is proof that there is a God who placed it there and a violation of that moral code is a sin worthy of God’s judgment.

In addition to this somewhat intangible standard that we all seem to have, God has given every man a very real conscience.

#3 God gave every person a conscience

Verse 15 says, “¹⁵ They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness…”

It goes without question that every man possesses some degree of conscience.  Conscience is the natural ability to decide right from wrong.  Our conscience is not trying to make up the rules, but it seems to continually enforce a group of rules that exists outside of itself.   Our conscience refuses to be without an outside standard of morality.

Animals don’t have a conscience.  When my dog, Rusty, eats an entire stick of butter off the table, he doesn’t feel guilty about it.  Animals have instincts, but no conscience.  In the animal world, deceit, theft, murder, adultery and polygamy are all totally normal and within the nature of many animals.  The standard by which mankind judges right and wrong is not connected with anything in nature or anything in the animal kingdom.  What happens in nature seems really beneath us.  Here’s why:  Our standards aren’t governed by instinct, but by God’s revelation.  God’s law is written on the hearts of every man and woman and child.  God will judge us according to the law that is written on our heart.

Now it is also true that some people and some cultures work in constant opposition to their conscience and they’ve done so for so long that their conscience seems to be silenced.  However, just because someone’s moral capacity is numbed or ignored does not mean that it does not exist.  Consider this story:

There was a missionary to tribe in Northern Brazil.  This tribe was known to attack and kill people in neighboring tribes and had convinced themselves that it was not wrong to do so.  One day the missionary observed a native who was very fidgety and nervous with sweat on his brow entering the village.  He seemed very uneasy in the presence of his friends.  Later, the missionary learned that the man had just killed a man from another tribe.  Although in their society it was not considered wrong to murder a member of another tribe, this man was obviously under the pressure of a guilty conscience.

Societal norms are not the only thing that governs the conscience.  Sometimes the culture will accept something as moral, but a person’s conscience tells them something different.  The ability to question the norms and ponder right and wrong is yet another evidence of God has written His law on the hearts of men.

Look at verse 15 again, “¹⁵ They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them….”

This tribal man I mentioned found himself at war with his conscience.  It accused him although what he did was not illegal in their village.  He either needed to receive the accusation from his conscience and turn from his sin or make an excuse for his behavior in order to make his conscience be quiet.

We often find ourselves at war with a standard that is above the law of the land.  This is the law is written on our hearts by God.  Paul is saying here that even without the Bible, we all stand condemned by our own conscience.  The sins we knowingly commit are enough to bring about God’s wrath on judgment day.  So what do we do about it?

Sin creates a huge problem for us:

• Sin makes us deserving of God’s wrath
  “For the wages of sin is death” Romans 6:23a
• Sinners can’t earn their way to heaven
  “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” Romans 3:20
• Sinners are in a helpless state
  “¹⁶ on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.” Romans 2:16

We need a savior.  Into our despair, God sends his Son.  Let me tell you a few things about our Savior:

• Jesus has existed in perfect fellowship with God for all of eternity past.  The world was created through Him and for Him.
  “¹⁶ For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” Col 1:16
  God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit saw our problem with sin.  The perfect justice of God required sins to be paid for.  Jesus said, “I’ll pay for them.”  In love, God sent His son and in love Jesus, the son, willing came down to earth to pay for that sin.
• Jesus, the Son of God, became a man
  “though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” Phil 2:6-7
• As fully man and fully God, Jesus willingly sacrificed himself to satisfy God’s wrath against our sins.  He was killed by the hands of the very men He created on an instrument of death and torture called a cross so that our sins might be forgiven.
  ^“7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace” Eph 1:7
• He didn’t stay in the grave.  The maker of life, The Lord over all of Creation proved his power by rising victoriously from the grave
  “[Jesus] was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 1:4

Jesus conquered sin! That is the gospel AND now salvation is offered freely to all who would call upon him as Savior and Lord

Life Application

The question remains, how do I receive the risen power of Christ?  How do I respond to his love?  What is required of me?

We can have a knowledge of Christ, but until we respond to Him in faith, we are still standing in the crosshairs of God’s judgment with no other way of escape.

#1: Turn from Sin: The first step is to acknowledge that you have violated God’s laws and you’d like to stop.  We sometimes call this repentance.  You are a law-breaker and in no way deserve heaven.  If you don’t understand something of the gravity of your sin – if you think that God is making a big deal over nothing – then you probably don’t really understand your need for salvation yet.

The first step is to acknowledge that you have broken God’s laws, you can’t escape from sin and you desperately need Jesus.

#2 Turn to Christ: Secondly, receiving Christ entails rejecting everything else we are currently trusting in for salvation.  It’s not:

• Good works plus Jesus
• Religion plus Jesus
• Positive thinking plus Jesus

It is JUST Jesus

#3 Trust Jesus as Lord:  It is fully trusting in Jesus alone for salvation.  The last step is the one that trips up most people.  Before we finalize a decision to follow Jesus, we should count that cost.  Salvation is free, but joining the Navy is free too.

You don’t have to buy your way in.  Everything is provided for you.  You don’t have to measure up to a certain standard.  However, it will cost you dearly.  It could cost you:

• Friends
• Pleasures of sin
• Family
• Independence
• It could even cost you your life

My job is to tell you the whole story.  Jesus is a conquering King.  Jesus conquered sin and He expects His followers to embrace Him as both Savior AND Lord.

Jesus reigns over the earth as its Lord
“⁹ Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Phil 2:9-11

Jesus is Lord and when he comes into a person’s life, He takes control.  He wants to rule over every aspect of your life.  The cost is great, but the reward is eternal and immeasurable.

Teaching Outline

God is holy and He demands perfection – Matt. 5:48

Wisdom begins when we realize our dangerous position before a holy God – Pro. 1:7

All men are sinners and God HATES sin – v. 6, 11, 12

Those who have the Law, are accused by the Law – v.13

People without the Law are judged by what they Do know – v. 14-16

#1 Creation points mankind to an awareness of God – Romans 1:20

#2 Mankind’s conduct is based on an internal knowledge of God – v.14

#3 God gave every person a conscience – v. 15

Application

#1: Turn from Sin

#2 Turn to Christ

#3 Trust Jesus as Lord

“¹⁶ For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” Col 1:16

“…though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” Phil 2:6-7

^“7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace” Eph 1:7

“⁹ Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Phil 2:9-11