 | | | | | | Not Ashamed Of The Gospel
Not Ashamed Of The Gospel
Romans 1:8-17
June 29, 2008
First United Methodist Church, Lindstrom
(This is a manuscript prepared for sermon delivery and may not represent actual words spoken.)
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
I would like for us to think about having confidence in someone or something to get the job done. Confidence in a thing’s ability or power, if you will.
I was once a basketball player. This was back in my high school days at Brooklyn Center. Nowadays, I much prefer the sport of hockey. At least, it is the sport I prefer to watch. But there was a time when it was basketball. I was better equipped, physically, for that sport.
My senior year at Brooklyn Center, 1973, we had a pretty decent team. Really good team, in fact. We made it to the state tournament. That was in the era of the two class tournament. All five starters were either all conference or honorable mention. Two of them went on to play college ball. One was recruited by the University of Minnesota as a football player. So it was a pretty athletic starting five.
I was not among the starting five. Oh, the coach would put me in now and then. But my role was pretty much limited to spelling one of the starters. You know, give them a half minute or minute of rest. Coach would say, “Doughty, get in there and give Smith a break.” On occasion, the coach would get mad at a starter and stick me in there—but just long enough to get the other player straightened out. So I had a function on the team—along with a couple of other non-starters.
So it was 1973. We were in district play. It was the championship game against St. Anthony. The winner would advance to the regions. It was a tough game. Back and forth. Neither team could gain a big advantage. And at the end of regulation, the game was tied. Overtime.
And we were faced with a problem. Arnie, one of our top guys—one who would go on to play some college ball—fouled out of the game—just as overtime began. That was not good. The coach would have to put in another player. And it would be either Rick or me. Coach had a decision. Rick and I were sitting next to one another. The coach came and stood in front of us. He looked at me and then at Rick and back at me and back at Rick. And…he put in Rick.
And why not? Rick went out and got a couple of key baskets and helped us win the game. A big victory. It wasn’t that the coach thought I was a bad player. That’s what I told myself. It was just at that moment, in that tense situation, he had confidence in Rick’s ability to get the job done. He was right.
Confidence in someone’s or something’s ability to get the job done.
In the Scripture we read from Romans, Paul said he was not ashamed of the gospel. And when we think of shame, what is it we think of? We tend to think of it as meaning a feeling of regret or guilt. The opposite of shame, then, might be seen as pride. The opposite of feeling ashamed is to feel proud. So Paul could have been saying he was proud of the gospel. He took pride in the gospel. And that was certainly true. But I think he also may have been saying something else. I think he was saying he had confidence in the gospel—confidence in the gospel above all else—confidence in the power of the gospel to get the job done.
Consider the setting. Paul wrote the letter of Romans to a church he had not begun. He was writing to a community of faith in a city to which he had not yet been. He talked about how he longed to see them. He told them he had planned many times to visit them. But circumstances prevented it. But now he was ready.
We know Paul’s story. He was not always a preacher of the good news. Quite the opposite. He was determined to destroy the Church. He was on his way to Damascus to round up the Christians there. On the way, he met Jesus. And he was saved. He experienced the power of the good news to bring change to his life. He experienced the power of the gospel to change his whole view.
The change in him also effected great change in the Church. In that time, it was a difficult change, as he brought the gospel to Gentiles. He became a missionary and established many faith communities And most of his work was done in what we might then have called the east. Paul was sensing it was time to move on. He needed to start heading west. And from where he was at the time, the west would include places such as Rome and Spain. In the fifteenth chapter of Romans, Paul wrote, But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to see you, I plan to do so when I go to Spain. As he wrote those words, he was on his way to Jerusalem with a gift for the poor from the Christians in Macedonia and Achaia. And in Acts, chapter nineteen, we read that Paul was on his way to Jerusalem—on the way he would pass through Macedonia and Achaia—and he said then that he had to get to Rome. We know he eventually made it to Rome, and how he got there. So Paul knew it was time to move on. And he wrote this letter to the Romans in advance of his visit.
And what a book it is. Romans can be tough to follow at times. Its theme is justification by faith. In it, Paul makes the argument that we are saved by faith alone. He wrote about how we have all sinned, and the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life. You see, this was a kind of letter of introduction. Paul wanted the followers of Jesus in Rome to know what he was about—what he believed—and what he would be preaching while among them. He would preach the gospel. And he was not ashamed of it. He had full confidence in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Now, I would kind of like to speak personally. We are in a unique situation today. Our first worship service together My first sermon here. And I am going to confess that I have been a bit nervous about this first sermon. Perhaps more than a bit. I have been nervous since it was first announced I would be coming to Lindstrom. It has been seventeen years since I preached a first sermon. You will discover I have a style all my own—which is as it should be. Shorter. Generally, one point. And I enjoy telling stories. I hope you enjoy hearing a good story every now and then. Maybe even a not-so-good one. Sometimes true stories, but on occasion there may be an exaggeration or two. Stories from places I have been and from my younger days.
An occasional tale about my dad and me. My dad was a tough and harsh man, sometimes very difficult to get along with. Then one day he started attending the Brooklyn Center Baptist Church. He heard the gospel. He made a commitment of his life to Christ. And became one of the most gentle men many people ever met. A changed man.
My oldest child. There was a time we were so concerned for him. The path he was on…well, it was not the best road. Last month, he graduated from Asbury Seminary. He begins serving three small churches next Sunday. It was the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The gospel. It is the power of God. It is the power of God to bring about salvation in the lives of those who are lost. It is the power of God to bring about salvation and hope in the lives of those who are hurting. It is the power of God to bring about change. Change in people and change in churches. We, I believe, need to have confidence in the gospel.
Laurie and I have known for a time it was time for us. Time to move on to a new place. There was a sense of restlessness. It was in March when we met with the Staff/Parish Relations Committee and a few from the Body Building Task Force. It was a lengthy interview. But we sensed this was where God might be leading us. And that has been confirmed many times. We have appreciated the many letters and emails and conversations of welcome. We have appreciated getting our lawn mowed. The day we moved in, people stopped by to greet us. And they came bearing gifts of food. The choir stopped by Wednesday evening with a singing welcome-o-gram. Others have welcomed us through the week. We have run into people who have known who we were—before we told them who we were. It has been great. Thank you all very much. And while it has been very tough to say good-bye, we have been anxious and eager to get here. I know you have been praying for us. We have been praying for you and longing to see you.
And me…well, getting nervous about this first message. My mentor has been John Jakway, a retired United Methodist pastor. Some of you probably know him. He hired me as his Youth Director up in Hibbing before I left for seminary. It was there I received my call. As I was leaving for school, he gave me this bit of advice. It has never been forgotten. He said, “Dan, just remember to love the people and preach the gospel.”
Preach the gospel. And today, what I am attempting to share with you, as together we embark on this new journey together, is I am eager to preach the gospel to you who are in Lindstrom. And I am not ashamed of it. I have every confidence in the good news of Jesus Christ. For it is the power of God to bring about salvation—and to effect change.
The loving-the-people part of the advice I received began this past March. Preaching the gospel begins today.
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
Amen.
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