What do you think about? It’s a good question…one we all have to answer, from 7th graders to 70 year olds. 1 Peter 3:15 (NLT) says, “Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it.” The book of Romans answers these questions in regards to Christianity. If you’re a Christian, curious, or skeptic you need to read this. Rome is in its prime, Nero is emperor, and it is basically the New York City of the day. Paul is writing to all the Christians in Rome.

Paul’s thesis statement is Romans 1:16-17.

It is all good news. (Romans 1:16)

• Jesus died on the cross for you and me and if we believe, we get to go to heaven. That is good news! That is the central theme of Romans – the cross and what it means to you and me.
• Paul covers some polarizing topics, some difficult sins, and some hard theology, but it is all about Jesus who gave his life for us!
• If you are a Christian, let me encourage you to look at the gospel as good news. Don’t look at it as something you do as a routine or because your mom told you to see it that way. Celebrate what God is doing and the good news of his son, Jesus.

The good news is for all. (Romans 1:16)

• The good news is for anyone that will believe. You don’t have to be in church all your life or of a specific denomination, background, or upbringing. We don’t ask for church ID cards before you come in.
• This is not an exclusive club – we don’t care where you have been. All we care about is where you are going. As a church, we accept you where you are in life and take you forward in your walk with Christ.

It all takes faith. (Romans 1:17)

• At the end of the day, it all takes faith. You either believe it or not. It is that simple.
• Everything that Paul writes has to be accepted by faith, and there is nothing I can say that will give you 100% proof.
• It really all boils down to: do you believe or not? You answer to God for what you believe and don’t believe.

Romans 1:17 is what helped fuel the passion in Martin Luther to start the Protestant Reformation nearly 500 years ago. You and I can read the same passage today. The gospel is still alive and fresh and will change your life if you let it.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, February 21st, 2010 at 6:00 pm and is filed under cbc. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.