In Romans 1 the Apostle Paul delights, repeatedly, in the wonder-working power of the Gospel. He rejoices in the transforming call and power of the Gospel that compelled him to be separated unto a new life and become a bondservant of Jesus Christ. He describes the continuity of the everlasting Gospel, as Jesus Christ, the Son of God was born in the flesh as the seed of David—as promised by the prophets of old. He proclaims the resurrecting power of the Gospel, which raises men from the dead. And, finally, he takes joy in the grace of the Gospel, which brings faith and obedience to the believer. His is a model to follow—as such delight should fill our mouths with praise as we share the Gospel with others!

Here we are at the beginning of the book of Romans, probably the central book of the Bible, which many say it is. But what you find in the first seven verses is that the Apostle Paul is so delighted in the gospel. And he, of course, he can't stop thinking about it because he keeps talking about it all the way to the end. And he's really saying, I'm not ashamed of the gospel, for it's the power of God. And I just want to point out several powers of the gospel that the apostle Paul is communicating that's affected his own life.

And with each point, I would just encourage you to just pause and think, oh Lord this is so delightful. And when you're communicating the gospel to your children, to your friends, to your fellow church members, that the delight that you find in the Apostle Paul is your delight, that's my goal. So the first thing that he talks about in verse one is just the transforming power of the gospel. The gospel is so beautiful, it's so compelling, It's so powerful that he wanted to become a slave of Jesus Christ. He calls himself Paul, a bond servant of Jesus Christ.

And then he talks about the call of the gospel. He was called an apostle. He didn't call himself. He didn't look within himself. He looked outside and God was calling him.

What a beautiful thing that is to know that your salvation is not dependent upon you, but it's upon the call of God that you hear and then you follow. And then he talks about the separation of the gospel and he was severed really from his old life. He was separated to the gospel, giving his whole life to the gospel. This is how delightful it was. And as you think about this, you know, for your own life, think of what a blessing it is to be severed from your old life and to have a new life.

And then he talks about just the continuity of this everlasting gospel, that it was promised through the prophets, it was in the holy scriptures, that they all spoke of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh. In other words, this is an everlasting gospel. Rejoice in this everlasting gospel. And then He speaks of the power of the resurrection, that Jesus Christ was declared to be the Son of God with the power of the resurrection from the dead. And of course this is resurrection power, which means it's power that sets you free from the bondage really even even of your body and he talks about the grace of the gospel that through him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all the nations.

In other words, this is a gospel that makes you want to obey, makes you want to follow the Lord, makes you want to stop your disobedience and to obey all the laws of God. So this is Paul's delight in the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's something that starts with this holy gratitude for all of what God has done. Here's what I want to encourage all of us to do. Just to meditate for a moment on the delightful powers of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

When you're communicating the gospel to your children at home, let the Apostle Paul's delight become your delight. When you're talking to a friend or a church member, when you, if you're a preacher, When you're preaching the gospel, your congregation should see the delight that there is in Jesus Christ in the same way that the Apostle Paul experienced so much delight where he would say, I'm not ashamed of the gospel. It's the power of God unto salvation. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. Scripture Applied is a production of Church and Family Life.

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