Speaker 1
Hey podcast listeners, thanks for streaming today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.
Pathway to Victory is a nonprofit ministry featuring the Bible teaching of Dr. Robert Jeffress. Our mission is to pierce the darkness with the light of God's Word through the most effective media available, like this podcast.
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Now here's today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.
Speaker 2
Hi, this is Robert Jeffress and I'm glad to study God's Word with you every day. This Bible teaching program on today's edition of Pathway to Victory.
Speaker 3
It doesn't matter what a person's background is. It doesn't matter what his religion is. It doesn't matter what his stage or age in life is.
As long as somebody is old enough to sin and old enough to die, they need the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel is for everyone.
Speaker 1
Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor, Dr. Robert Jeffress. As Christians, we rejoice because though God has provided a way of escape through faith in Jesus Christ, that leaves us with a perplexing question.
What exactly does it mean to have faith? Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress turns to Romans chapter one to uncover the true meaning of faith.
Now here's our Bible teacher to introduce today's message.
Speaker 2
Dr. Jeffress thanks David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory as we continue an in-depth study of Romans 1 through 5. I'm calling this teaching series Grace Powered Living. Open your Bible and you're not likely to find pictures that help you see with your own eyes what it's like to walk the dusty trails of first-century travelers. But I've come across a book that affords this luxury. I'm referring to an Illustrated Guide to the Apostle Paul, with pictures, maps, and other sketches. This is one of the first, finest Bible study tools of its kind. This illustrated guide brings the remarkable story of Paul to life, and right now I'm prepared to send a copy to your home.
In addition to the Illustrated Guide to the Apostle Paul, I'll also include a Multifolded Journeys of Paul Map and Brochure. These two resources are yours when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory. That's an Illustrated Guide to the Apostle Paul and the Journeys of Paul Map and Brochure. To receive yours, you can either call us, write a letter, or it's actually much more efficient if you go online to ptv.org. David and I will repeat this information later, but right now let's continue our study in Romans Chapter One from the teaching series called Grace Powered Living. I've titled today's message "The Just Live by Faith."
Speaker 3
We saw last time that Paul wrote this letter to a group of Christians he had never met before. But he wanted to write this letter to this church to help ground them in the basics of the Christian faith. And we saw last time that the theme verse of the entire book of Romans is found in verses 16 and 17 of Romans 1. For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and then to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. And then he quotes Habakkuk the prophet: For the righteous person shall live by faith.
How do we come to a right relationship with God? How can we know we're going to be approved by God and enter into heaven one day? It is not by works. It is by faith in the grace of God, believing what God has done for us through Christ. Well, how do you know if you have that kind of saving faith or not? Notice beginning in verse 8 that Paul gives us three characteristics of genuine faith.
First of all, he says, genuine faith encourages other people. Look at verse eight: First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world. Look at verses 11 and 12. Paul said, For I long to see you in order that I might impart some spiritual gift to you that you might be established. Paul said, I want to be with you, Roman Christian, so I can use my spiritual gift to encourage you. But look at verse 12, that is, that I might be encouraged together with you, while among you, each of us, by one another's faith, both yours and mine.
What Paul is saying is if you have the kind of faith that really saves, that trusts God, that faith is not only going to trust God for the hereafter, but it's going to trust God for the here and now. And as you trust God in your present circumstances, your faith will spill over to other people as well. Genuine faith encourages other people.
Secondly, genuine faith endures unanswered prayer. If you've been a Christian for any time at all, sooner rather than later, you're going to have to deal with the problem of unanswered prayer. Why doesn't God answer my prayers? The real question people ask when they say, why doesn't God answer my prayers? What they're really asking is, why doesn't God answer my prayers affirmatively and immediately? The late James Boice mentioned several reasons for unanswered prayer. I'd like to expand on them for a moment.
One possibility for unanswered prayer is unconfessed sin in our life. Unconfessed sin. Isaiah 59:1-2 states, "Behold, the Lord's hand is not so short that it cannot save, neither is his ear dull, so that it cannot hear." God's not hard of hearing. That's not why he's not answering your prayer right now. Isaiah is saying, what is the reason? Verse 2: "But your iniquities, your sin have made a separation between you and your God. And your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear."
There's a second reason the Bible gives: sometimes it's because of idolatry. Do you remember the story in Ezekiel 14 when the leaders of Israel came to the prophet Ezekiel and asked him to pray for them? So Ezekiel asked God, what should I do? God said, don't pray for them. Can you imagine coming to your pastor and saying, "Pastor, pray for me," and I say, "I'm sorry, God told me not to pray for you"? That's exactly what happened in Ezekiel 14:3. God gave Ezekiel the reason he was not to pray for these leaders of Israel. He said, "Now, son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts and have put right before their faces the stumbling block of their iniquity. Should I be consulted by them?" It was because of idolatry.
Now some of you are saying, "Well, that sure doesn't apply to me. I don't have a little, you know, two-foot shrine in my bedroom of some false god that I kneel before every night before I go to bed. I may be guilty of a lot of things, but not idolatry." Think again. Notice where these idols were that God condemned the Israelites for. The idols were where? In their hearts, not in a shrine. It was in their hearts. You know what an idol is? An idol is anything or anyone you love more than God. Anything or anyone you love more than God has become an idol. And God said, I will not answer the prayers of those who have idols in their hearts.
A third possibility for unanswered prayers is a lack of generosity. Proverbs 21:3 and Malachi, chapter 3, verses 7 to 11, remind us that we don't give to God financially in order to get something in return. And yet Malachi 3 is very clear that if we do not give God what belongs to him, the offering that belongs to him, it is like we are robbing God. He draws a relationship between robbing God and unanswered prayer. There is a famine in the land, and the Israelites wondered, "God, why aren't you answering our prayer?" And God said, "Why are you robbing me? Will a man rob God?" The Israelites said, "Well, how are we robbing you?" God said, "In your tithes and your offerings. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse." That may be one reason for unanswered prayer in your life. That's not the word of Robert; that's the word of God, Malachi, chapter three.
But those aren't any reasons that actually applied to the Apostle Paul. There is a fourth reason that God did not answer Paul's request affirmatively and immediately: it was because of the sovereign will of God. You know, Paul said, "I want to come," and then in chapter 15, verses 20 to 22, Paul explains the reason that God had said no to his requests. And that is God had a different plan for Paul. He wanted Paul to preach the gospel where it had never been preached before. And then later, he had a plan for Paul to come to Rome. Did you know Paul eventually made it to Rome? He made it as a prisoner, but he made it to Rome as he had been praying. God had a different plan and he had a different timetable.
One reason God has not answered your prayer affirmatively yet is because he has a better plan and a different timetable than you do. Some of you right now, perhaps you're a single adult. You've been praying for God to bring the right man or woman into your life. And you've said, "God, why haven't you done so yet? Why haven't you brought that person?" God has a different timetable. He has a better person than you could possibly imagine. He has still more work he wants you to accomplish as a single adult before he brings that person into your life.
For some of you right now, you know you're saying to God, "God, I just hate this job. Why am I stuck in this job? When in the world are you going to move me out of this job?" Quit looking at me that way, Walter. It doesn't apply to you.
Speaker 2
But.
Speaker 3
No, but there's some of you who are thinking that it's not that God has forgotten you. He still has more that he wants you to accomplish where you are. And he is working perhaps right now, behind the scenes, orchestrating the way for you to go to your next place of service. He's doing things you're not aware of right now, behind the scenes. And suddenly, on a day that begins like any other day, your circumstances are gonna change.
One reason that God doesn't answer affirmatively and immediately is because of the sovereign will of God. Paul says true saving faith is faith that trusts God to do what is best. It is a faith that can endure unanswered prayer. Thirdly, Paul says true, genuine saving faith enables us to receive the righteousness of God. Look at verses 16 and 17. He says, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes." Now you've heard me recite that verse numerous times over these last few weeks. And yet that phrase may be strange to you. For I am not ashamed of the gospel. You might think, well, Paul, who would ever be ashamed of the gospel? Why, I would never be ashamed of the gospel. Really? You might want to think about that again.
Have you ever been ashamed of the gospel? Maybe it's been a time when you were afraid to directly confront that non-Christian teacher or that boss of yours who says something and does something that is overtly against the gospel. Or maybe it's by being fearful to share the gospel of Christ with that relative, with that close friend of yours. You use the excuse you don't want to offend them. The real truth is you don't want to be rejected by them. Or maybe you're hesitant in a group to hold on to that belief and articulate that belief that all other religions really are dead end roads. There is only one way to God, and that is through faith in Jesus Christ. The fact is, we've all been ashamed of the gospel at one time or another. We've all failed to stand up as we should.
But Paul said, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ." Notice the three reasons he gives for not being ashamed. First of all, he said, the Gospel is man's only hope for salvation. One reason we don't have to back down is because the Gospel is man's only hope for salvation. He said, "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes."
There was an award-winning movie called "Gravity." It's the story of two astronauts played by Sandra Bullock and George Clooney who find themselves marooned in outer space with no way to get home. By the way, ladies, if you find yourself marooned in space, it's probably not bad to be with George Clooney. That's probably not that bad. But anyway, that's the movie plot. They're marooned, desperately looking for a way to get back home. If some voice were to come over and say, "If you will just push this button and this button and this button, you will arrive safely at home," would those astronauts be offended by the instruction? No, they would have welcomed the instruction.
But they were alone, drifting by themselves. That is a great picture of mankind. All mankind is drifting farther and farther away from God. And there are not many ways back home to God. God has instituted one rescue plan, and that rescue plan is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And that's why we don't have to be ashamed to say there is one way to be saved. Ladies and gentlemen, that word "save" and "salvation," that's not a Baptist word. That is not some hick word. There are people today who want to make fun of, "Oh, you all talk about being saved, being saved, being saved." Look, that is the word Paul uses 13 times in the book of Romans. For our gospel really is the means of salvation. All of us are drifting away from God. We are headed for an eternity of hell. And there is only one way back to God.
Did you know, by the way, that non-Christian you talk to, that friend, that relative, that work associate, they have that sense that they're lost? They have a sense that they're drifting. The Roman statesman Seneca, who was a contemporary of the Apostle Paul, said, "All mankind is looking for a hand let down to lift us up." Everybody's looking for divine intervention, for divine help to lift us up out of our lostness. The Gospel should not be ashamed of; it is man's only hope for salvation.
Secondly, Paul said, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, for the gospel is for everyone." Look again at verse 16: "For it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and then to the Greek." The Gospel is not just for the wealthy or the poor, the educated, the uneducated, the young, or the old. Here's one way that Christianity is so different than other religions: the gospel is open to anyone, everyone, regardless of their religion, nationality, or economic place in life. The Gospel is for everyone.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the great Baptist preacher of yesteryear, was talking to a group of young children and he said to those children, "I realize you are young, but you are old enough to sin and you're old enough to die. And as long as those two things are true, you need a savior." It doesn't matter what a person's background is. It doesn't matter what his religion is. It doesn't matter what his stage or age in life is. As long as somebody is old enough to sin and old enough to die, they need the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel is for everyone.
Thirdly, Paul said, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, for the gospel is received by faith." Look at verse 17: "For in the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith." Literally, it begins and it ends with faith. "For as it is written, the righteous shall live by faith." The apostle Paul understood that truth perhaps better than anyone. His life did a complete 180 after his confrontation with Christ on the road to Damascus.
In Philippians Chapter 3, Paul shares what his life was like before he came to Christ and after he came to Christ. Before he came to Christ, Paul was like so many people you talk to, perhaps like some of you watching or listening right now. You think your right standing with God is a series of pluses and minuses. You do some good things, pluses. You do some bad things, minuses. But at the end of your life, if your pluses outweigh the minuses, you get to go to heaven. Most all of mankind believes that pluses and minuses just have more of one than the other and you're okay.
In Philippians 3, Paul said, "That's the way I used to view my life." He talked about all of his prior accomplishments that he was depending on to get to heaven. He was a Jew. He was circumcised on the eighth day. He was a Pharisee, a keeper of the law, zealous in his faith. On and on and on he went. He thought, "That's why I'm going to be welcomed into heaven." But then he says, "But then I realized those things I counted as gain were actually loss to me compared to the incomparable joy of knowing Christ."
Paul said those things he was gripping tightly as his entrance pass into heaven were actually keeping him from heaven because as long as he was holding onto his works, his hand was not open to receive the gift of God's grace through faith. And that's why Paul said, "My prayer now, Philippians 3:9, is that I might be found in Christ, not having a righteousness of my own, which is derived from keeping the law, but a righteousness that comes from God through Christ on the basis of faith." The righteous shall live not by works, but by faith.
At the beginning of this series, I told you the story of a Catholic monk named Martin Luther, whose life was impacted by this book we're studying, the Book of Romans. You remember while he was a professor at the University of Wittenberg, that he kept reading the Book of Romans over and over again that he was teaching. And there is a phrase in that book that he kept turning over in his mind. It was the verse we're looking at today, verse 17: "The righteous shall live by faith."
Martin Luther's son Paul recounts this true story in his father's life. He said, as a Catholic monk, his dad, Martin Luther, traveled to Rome, as all good monks and all good Catholics would. And they would go while in Rome to the Chapel of St. John. There in the Chapel of St. John, there was a stone staircase made with stones that supposedly had come from Pontius Pilate's home. Those stones were stained red. They were said to be stained with the blood of Jesus himself as he ascended those stairs to stand before Pilate.
So pilgrims from around the world would come to the Chapel of St. John. There they would kneel at the base of the staircase and kiss the first level that contained the stains of Jesus' blood. Then they would painfully, on their knees, bring themselves up to the next level and pray for hours. And then the next level. They felt like, as they made that painful ascent up the stairs, that somehow they were ensuring the remission of their sins and assuring themselves that they would not suffer punishment in Purgatory for years. They were there to earn God's forgiveness.
And so Martin Luther made his pilgrimage to the chapel at St. John. As he knelt there and prayed, the words of Romans 1:17 kept coming back to his mind: "The righteous shall live by faith." As he went up to the next level, again he heard the voice, louder: "The righteous shall live by faith." Martin Luther said there was a war that was going on in his spirit. "By fear," said Martin Luther, "the righteous will be made right with God." "By faith," said the apostle Paul. "By fear," said those who stood beside me ascending the stairs. "By faith," said God our Savior, "the righteous shall live by faith."
When he ascended to the top of the staircase, he stood up, horrified by his own superstition and folly. He descended that staircase and walked out of St. John's Chapel that day. His son said from that point on, the foundation of his life, his ministry, and finally the Protestant Reformation was that verse: "The righteous shall live by faith."
How is a person made right with God? How can we, who are sinful men and women, be assured of God's forgiveness? It is not by fear. It is not by works. It is not by ritual. It is not by religion. The righteous shall live by faith.
Speaker 2
These verses portray the underpinnings of the Christian experience. We are saved not by good works, but by believing in the saving power of Jesus Christ. Paul said, the righteous shall live by faith.
Well, at Pathway to Victory, we've made it our mission to equip you with resources designed to help you walk in faith. And I'm especially pleased to offer a book that complements our study in Romans, Chapters one through five. It's an illustrated guide to the Apostle Paul, the man who wrote under inspiration of God's spirit, this letter to the Romans. By owning and reading this book, you'll come to understand and respect the man God used to start a spiritual revolution.
In addition to this illustrated guide, I'd like to also send you the Journeys of Paul Map and brochure so that you can use your finger to trace the footsteps of Paul and so that you'll be able to identify the major locations where he traveled and the significance of those encounters. Both resources are yours when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory.
It's a fitting way to say thank you for your partnership because in essence, your gift makes you a missionary of sorts as you send Pathway to Victory all across America and even around the world. Thank you so much for your generosity.
David will repeat this information now and he'll give our phone number, our web address, and even our mailing address for those who prefer sending a gift in the mail.
Speaker 1
David thanks Dr. Jeffress. To request your copy of *An Illustrated Guide to the Apostle Paul*, simply give us a call at 866-999-2965. Now a copy is yours when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory. And as an added bonus, we'll also send the new and exclusive *Journeys of Paul* map. Again, call 866-999-2965 or make your request online at ptv.org. When your gift is $75 or more, you'll also receive the *Grace Powered Living Teaching Series* on audio and video discs, highlighting chapters one through eight in the Book of Romans. This teaching set features the complete, unedited messages, perfect for listening in the car or maybe watching with your small group Bible study. To request the teaching set, call 866-999-2965 or visit ptv.org. You can always get in touch with us by mail at P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas 75222. Again, that's P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas 75222.
I'm David J. Mullins. While God graciously offers His free gift of salvation to everyone, those who reject it will be required to pay a price. Discover why we're all held accountable without excuse when you listen Thursday to Pathway to Victory. *Pathway to Victory* with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas.
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