May 6, 2007
Morning Service
“Bold Reminders!”
Presented by Pastor Tim Pasma
Romans 15.15-16
What a great day it’s been so far! Hasn’t it? How glorious it is to worship the Saviour Who is just and Who, because of Him, God – Who is holy – can justify sinners.
We’re here every Sunday to celebrate the Gospel, and we want to do that today. So let’s ask God to bless the remainder of this celebration as we come to Him in prayer, shall we?
Father, we are here because You have called us through Jesus. We are here because we are Your people. We are here to obey the command to worship and we find in that command great delight and joy as we sing our praises to You of this wonderful Saviour. As we have witnessed the baptism of one of Your children, who through his baptism has proclaimed his allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ as his King and his Saviour. We thank you that we can come here today and look into the Word of God, to find there good news. So, Lord, remind us today of that good news as we worship, and we thank You in Jesus’ Name.
Amen.
Nearly 22 years ago – in fact, it was on a Sunday. May 19, 1985. I got up in the pulpit at LaRue Baptist church to preach a sermon on the book of Acts. I began that sermon this way:
“I will never forget the day I married my lovely wife, Becca. It was August 7th, 1977.”
And a voice from the congregation spoke up: “It was August 5th.” [laughter]
Not only had I forgotten that day, but I had forgotten it in a very public way!
When Becca and I were young married people, we were going to a church in Indiana, and there was this one family who was kind of large. They had five kids. And one night, they went out to Pizza Hut for dinner. After they were done eating, they all piled back into the van and drove home.
When they got home, they found out that Angela, the youngest daughter, wasn’t in the van! And so, in a rush of panic, they drove back to Pizza Hut and found her just sitting there, talking with people who’d come in and so forth.
Have you ever forgotten an anniversary? Or a birthday? Or a person? We all have a tendency to forget, and I am pretty confident that many of you – if not all of you – at one time or another have forgotten an important date, an important appointment, an important commitment, or whatever. You’ve forgotten a variety of things.
We have a tendency to forget people and events and commitments and so forth. So what do you do in order to help you remember? Oh, we do all kinds of funny things.
We tie strings around our fingers. We write on our calendars – or our Palm Pilots, now. We leave notes or we write notes on the back of our hand so we can see it whenever we move our hand. We leave Post-It Notes in obvious places. But we do a number of things to remind us of whatever we need to remember. Because we need reminders.
Did you know that God has given us reminders so that we don’t forget some very important things? Yeah, He has. You see, we have an awful tendency to forget some of the most important things, and God gives us reminders so that we will not forget. Two of those reminders, we observe today: The Lord’s Table, and baptism.
Now, these are more than reminders. This Table brings us into communion with Jesus Christ in a very special way, to those who come to Him in faith. It is also a means by which God ministers sanctifying grace to His people. Baptism unites us to God’s people in the local church.
But they begin those ministries to us at the level of reminding us of the magnificent truths of the Gospel.
I want you to look at a text today that talks about reminders. Take your Bibles and let’s turn to Romans, chapter 15. Romans 15. We just want to look at verse 15 and 16, but let’s look at the paragraph as we begin this morning. Romans chapter 15, beginning in verse 14:
“I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another. I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.” (v. 14-16)
First of all, be reminded of the Gospel. Be reminded of the Gospel.
After telling you that you’re competent to instruct or to counsel one another, Paul says that he has written quite boldly about some points of the Gospel in order to remind you of some things. You see, we need reminders about the Gospel. We need reminders about what the Gospel means to us in our lives. The Apostle wrote this book of Romans – if we would study it through, which we did some years ago – but if you look at this book, you see that Paul wrote this book as an explanation of the Gospel that he preached to the people where he was sent.
And in that explanation, he had gotten rather bold at some points. Well, why? Why does he have to get bold in reminding us of the Gospel? Because of life! Because of your last week. Because of your dealings with other people. Because of what happened to you. Because of the situation in which you find yourself. You need reminders of the Gospel in order to understand its meaning for you in your situation.
What about work? What about work – you go to work. It becomes the place that you dread. And you need a reminder of the Gospel that says, “This is the place where you really exhibit the lordship of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
You look at work, and you say, “Man, I work with a bunch of filthy idiots!” And the Gospel reminds you that you work with people who desperately need grace and forgiveness.
Marriage sometimes becomes a battleground. And we need to be reminded by the Gospel that marriage becomes the place that you have the opportunity to display the love of the Lord Jesus Christ in very tangible ways.
Some people say, “Boy, I’m glad I’m a parent – that’s the only place where I can be a boss!” And the Gospel comes along and reminds you that being a parent is the greatest place of service.
Has someone mistreated you? The Gospel says you don’t have an opportunity for revenge. You have an opportunity to show real love and kindness and goodness.
You see, we need bold reminders of the Gospel because we live in a graceless, merciless world that will push us into its mold at any time. We need reminders of the Gospel.
You know, in fact, when we gather each Sunday, you ought to be reminded of the Gospel. We do this each Sunday because Sunday is the day we celebrate the Lord’s resurrection – the crowning achievement – the crown on all His work that says that all the Jesus did on the cross has been acceptable to God.
And so, every Sunday we have reminders of the Gospel. Our singing – as we lift our voices in praises to our Holy and Just God, Who justifies unjust people. We sing praises to the God Who is holy and can not compromise and must punish sin – but that in Christ, He can forgive us and still remain holy.
We do it in our offering. An offering is not the time to talk. The offering is a time to remember. It is a time to remember and to give thanks to God for His indescribable gift to us.
In our confession of sin and assurance of pardon, we are all reminded that we sin in particular, specific ways – but that God continues to forgive because of the sacrifice of Jesus.
In the Scripture reading, we are given again a glimpse of the whole plan of God to redeem a people for Himself.
In the sermon, God speaks to you of how Christ ought to be working in your life now.
And then, on a special day – on a Sunday like this – we have great reminders of the Gospel. In the Lord’s Table, you recall Jesus’ death and resurrection on your behalf.
In baptism, God reminds you that you have died to the old realm where sin rules, and have been raised to a new life where Jesus reigns and is your King and Master.
All of it is reminders of the Gospel. We need bold reminders all the time, don’t we?
Oh, we forget the Gospel too much. We as Christians go out into the world and we find ourselves falling short and as we said in Sunday school this morning, we Christians – not unbelievers! We Christians have a heightened sense of our sin. We know when we’ve sinned, and we hate it! And we have a tendency to forget the Gospel – the grace of God in Jesus Christ – and to wallow around in condemnation and thinking that God is angry at us, when we ought to be thanking God that He’s forgiven us in Jesus Christ and we can repent and we can move on and we can grow.
We need reminders of the Gospel.
Now, why has the Apostle Paul gone through the trouble of giving such bold reminders? Why did he pen this incredible book of sixteen chapters in order to remind us and to explain the Gospel of which he was a minister?
Well, he did it for reasons of authority, to be honest. And so, we need to be reminded of the Gospel's authority.
Paul was bold in reminding them because of the authority that he had. Notice what he says: “I’ve been quite bold about some things:
“I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles…” (v. 15-16a)
You see, he had reminded them and been bold at some points because he was acting out of obedience to the commission he had received from Jesus to proclaim the Gospel to the Gentiles. He had written quite boldly – frankly – because, he said, “Jesus had commissioned me to go after you!”
That’s what he says. As an Apostle, he had authority from Jesus the King to proclaim the Gospel. Turn over to Galatians chapter 1 very quickly. Just a reminder – we’ve departed from our study of Galatians today, but just as a reminder, you need to see what the Apostle Paul says about his commission. Chapter one, verse 15:
“But when God, who set me apart from birth”
God set me apart before I was born for this ministry.
”and called me by his grace,”
At one point in time, then, He called me.
“was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.” (v. 15-17)
What’s he saying? He’s saying that, “I received a commission from Jesus directly to go after the Gentiles! And so, I’ve written and reminded you of the Gospel because Jesus authorized me to give you the Gospel!” He’s acting out of obedience to that commission.
Suppose you go downtown here, and on the corner of 95 and High Street here, you see a platoon of soldiers. And you walk up and you say, “Attention!” What do you think those soldiers are going to do? [laughter]
They’ll probably go like this. [looks scornfully] Why? Because you don’t have a commission to order them around!
But if a Lieutenant walks up and says, “Attention!” they’re going to snap to! And if he says, “Jump!” they’re going to say, “How high?” Why? Because those bars on his shoulder say he’s been commissioned to give orders.
That’s the exact same thing with the Apostle Paul. He’s been commissioned. He’s been given the authority to proclaim the Gospel to Gentiles. They need to listen, because he has that authority.
We need to listen because of that apostolic authority. Listen. You know, we Baptists, we get a little bit squeamish when someone starts talking about apostolic authority. Listen, we have apostolic authority. It’s right here. [taps Bible] And those men were commissioned by Jesus to write down the things that He wanted written down, and they did it. And we need to obey.
But you know what? Paul didn’t just receive that authority from Jesus. If you must know, his authority also derives from the Gospel itself. The very thing that he proclaims is also the thing that has authority over him.
Isn’t that interesting? You say, “Well, why does he say that?”
Well, he says, “I have been given the authority to proclaim the Gospel of God” (v. 16).
It is the Gospel that came from God. Therefore, if it comes from God, he has to submit to it. Even though he’s proclaiming it, he has to submit to it.
Guess what? You know, I get up here every Sunday and I can preach to you, and all of you have an understanding that whatever I say to you from this pulpit, that comes from the Word of God – I have to obey, too, don’t I? I have the authority to proclaim the Gospel to you -- but! I have to obey it as well.
Paul only has the authority to proclaim the Gospel that was delivered to him. Again, look at Galatians chapter 1. Notice these intense, intense words. Galatians chapter 1, verse 8:
“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!” (v. 8-9)
Notice what he says! He says, “Even if I preach another gospel, God will curse me!”
That is very strong language, isn’t it? That is incredible! What is that saying? It’s saying that his authority to proclaim the Gospel isn’t just an authority from Jesus Himself. It comes from the Gospel!
“I can only proclaim this Gospel, and even if I should preach another Gospel, God should curse me!” Well, what does that mean?
It means simply this: The Gospel has authority over you. And you must live by the Gospel. It must rule you.
Do you remember what Paul said about Peter and his allies in Galatia? And I know, this is taking us back a ways. But you remember what was happening in Galatia?
Peter came along, and there were these Judaizers who were saying, “We gotta use the Old Testament law! The Old Testament law is what we have to live by! We have to live by that!” Okay?
And you remember that the Old Testament law said that Jews and Gentiles can’t mix – unless Gentiles become part of the covenant people of God. And so, Peter – an Apostle – started separating himself from the believers at Galatia. The Gentile believers.
You remember what Paul said to Peter and his allies? He said this in Galatians 2.14:
“I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel.”
That’s a very significant statement that he makes. He was saying that those men had no right to order their lives by the law. They had to act in line with the truth of the Gospel.
The Gospel is our rule. It is our law now. That is why, when you are reminded of the Gospel, you must – you are required to – think differently.
You are required to think differently of marriage. You are required to think differently of parenting. The Gospel requires you to think differently about your job. The Gospel requires you to think differently about your parenting. The Gospel requires you to think differently about everything.
And it requires you to act differently as well. It is the gospel, now, that is our rule of life. It has authority over us.
And so, we come on a Sunday like this, and we witness baptism. And we participate in the Lord’s Table. You are reminded that you live under a different authority, and that is the authority of the Gospel.
No one and nothing has any authority over you except through the Gospel. It is the Gospel that must rule. And so, we are reminded then of the authority of the Gospel.
But be reminded, as well, of the Gospel’s fruit. Be reminded of the Gospel’s fruit.
Notice what the Apostle Paul says. You know what? I picked this passage for this Sunday because it talks about reminders. But the other reason is because I just love this passage! That’s part of the advantage of being a Pastor – you can preach what you like! Not always -- when you’re preaching through a book, that’s different. You’ve got to preach what comes.
But this is different. And I love this part of the verse. He says in verse 16 that he’s a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles – notice.
“…with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.”
There’s the Gospel’s fruit. When the Gospel is proclaimed and believed, it produces a people who belong exclusively to God. That’s the fruit of the Gospel – a people who have been set apart – sanctified – who now belong exclusively to God. There is no other group of people in the world that belong exclusively to God, but those who belong to Jesus.
Isn’t that amazing? Think about that! Only those that belong to Jesus are exclusively set apart and devoted to God.
Now, in the picture that Paul draws here, he says that proclaiming the Gospel is like the ministry of an Old Testament priest. When he talks about priest here, he’s referring to the priest from the Old Testament.
What did a priest do in the Old Testament? Well, a priest would greet the worshippers as they brought their sacrifice to God. Suppose you lived under the Old Covenant, under the sacrificial system, and you had a boy. Or a daughter. At one point in the chronology that is given in the law, you would have to come to the Tabernacle, to the priest, with a sacrifice to God. All right?
There were times when you thought you had sinned, and so you had to bring a sacrifice of atonement. You would bring that to the priest. The priest would greet you there and would prepare that sacrifice. Or, as on the Day of Atonement, the priest would call the people to come. So, he’s got this priestly duty of calling people to come.
And the priest would make sure that your offering met the requirements that God said must be for that sacrifice to be acceptable. The priest had to make sure, for example, that if you brought a lamb, it had to be without blemish. Can you imagine that? A lamb without blemish. Do you think someone just came along with a lamb? You know, I can see the priest taking that lamb and setting it down to see if it hobbled. Couldn’t be lame. Taking that lamb and looking at it to see if it was unblemished. So the priest would make sure that the offering met the requirements of sacrifice so that it would be acceptable to God.
And then, on behalf of the people, he would offer up that sacrifice to God.
Well, proclaiming the Gospel is like preparing and then presenting an offering to God. But please notice what that offering is.
It’s Gentiles.
When we hear the word “Gentiles”, we all go: “Oh. Gentiles. Big deal.” Big deal, is right! Never forget this – for thousands of years – and I don’t know if there is anybody here who is of Jewish descent. I’m assuming there is not. If you are, you can tell me later and you can just forget what I’m going to say now.
But back then, all of us assembled in this place had no access to God. We were outside of the covenant community, with no access to God at all. Until – or unless – you would go through an incredible series of rituals and rites to become part of the covenant people of God. Unless that happened – unless you said, “I am now a Jew”, and had gone through all the ritual, you had no access to God at all. None. Imagine that – every one of you sitting here today, with no access to the true and the living God.
It is a big deal for him to say, “I have been given the commission to proclaim the Gospel – the good news that you can come to God – I’ve been given that commission to Gentiles!”
And because he’s faithful to that, you’re here today. Did you realize that? Because Paul was faithful to his commission, you are sitting here today!
Amazing.
So, get the picture. An offering that comes before God must be pure. It must be sanctified in order to be acceptable before God. It must be pure. It must be sanctified if it will be acceptable to God. It must meet certain requirements for God to accept it.
But the acceptable offering by which he speaks are sinners. Gentiles. People considered by God Himself outside the covenant community. How could they possibly become acceptable to God? They were unclean for God. They are unfit to serve God.
But in this time of God’s grace, they become acceptable to Him by the work of the Spirit through the preaching of the Gospel.
What does that mean? Simply, it means this. The Gospel is the instrument that the Spirit uses. It is the instrument that the Spirit uses to connect you to the cleansing power of Jesus on the cross. You are made acceptable to God as the Gospel is preached and believed, and then the cleansing power of Christ’s sacrifice is applied to you. So, you see, the Gospel then becomes the instrument by which you are forgiven and cleansed. All right?
And then he goes on to say – he says you’re sanctified. You’re set apart. What God does, then, is the Gospel is preached and as it is proclaimed to you, and you believe, you are now set apart from everyone else in the world – and now given exclusively to God.
You are different than anyone else in the world. You are one of God’s people. You are God’s people. No one else can make that claim except those who by the Spirit of God have been set apart by the preaching and the belief in the Gospel.
And so, we’re reminded today of that. We have these reminders today.
The Table tells us the Spirit has taken the Gospel – has introduced it to you. Or, more accurately, has introduced you to the Gospel. And by that Gospel has cleansed you, so that now you are acceptable to God.
This Table ought to remind you that the Spirit of God has set you apart.
Baptism – that we’ve witnessed today – ought to remind you that it is the Spirit of God Who has set you apart from every one else in this world, to be exclusively devoted to God. To be part of God’s people.
Look. We need reminders. We need reminders, because without them we would forget these magnificent truths.
So now, as we come to the Lord’s Table, as we’ve witnessed baptism, we’re reminded again. We’re reminded again of the Gospel. We’re reminded of the Gospel’s authority. We’re reminded of the Gospel’s fruit. We’re reminded of the magnificent truths that God has given us in the Gospel of grace in Jesus Christ.
I’m glad that God didn’t leave us alone to remember by ourselves. I can hardly remember yesterday, much less what God did centuries ago. But He has been faithful to us, and He’s given us these reminders that we might rejoice.
Listen to me! That we might not walk around with our heads down, remembering how guilty we are – but that we might instead lift up our countenance, if you will, and look squarely at God because we have been reminded that we have the right to come into His presence through Jesus Christ alone.
Not Jesus Christ and how well you did this week – Jesus Christ alone.
Let’s pray.
Father, as we come to the Table now, we ask that You would cause us to truly look with joy into Your Face, into the face of the Father Who loves us because of Jesus. And, Father – You are not bribed to love us. But You loved us in the very act of sending Jesus so that we could be sanctified and acceptable to You. It was Your desire to sanctify and make us acceptable to You, and so You gave us Your very Son in order that we might have the freedom of joy before a holy and just God. Lord God, as we have witnessed baptism today, we’ve been reminded that You call us all to repentance and faith, and as Bryant has expressed that this morning, we are reminded again that we have been raised to a new life and we have been identified with the people of God, set apart by the Holy Spirit. As we come to this Table, we’re reminded that the sacrifice of Jesus is sufficient. That Jesus does not need to be sacrificed again and again, but this Table then reminds us of that one sufficient sacrifice. God, now, help us to remember this in a very real way, that we might rejoice in Your presence. We thank You in Jesus’ Name.
Amen.