“PETA Urges MLB to Change ‘Bullpen’ Term Over Insensitivity to Cows!” It is this headline which I shared in my recent sermon on Romans 1:8-15 (a sermon not recorded but distilled below). As funny as this headline might seem, it was not meant as a joke. There are real people advocating for the removal of the word “bullpen,” leading me to believe that it’s not “the gods must be crazy” but “the culture must be crazy.”
We live in a world in which every day, every hour, every moment produces another headline upbraiding societal norms, with every new headline even stranger than the one before, whether it’s inviting biological males to compete against girls in athletics or allowing tent cities to overtake public parks forcing elementary schools to close. What is wrong with our culture?!? Actually, believe it or not, there is a very clear and simple answer for that question: sin. Of course, if you ask most city officials or politicians for the source of the problem, they will talk about everything but sin. Is it any wonder that no matter how much money we throw at the issues plaguing our culture, solutions can never be found? But in God’s Word, we find not only the problem…we find the solution. What is the solution for our crazed culture, for sin? One Word: Gospel. It is for this reason that Paul says, in Romans 1:15, “I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome.” Why is Paul so eager to preach the Gospel? Because, believe it or not, the first century culture was just as crazy as ours is today…just as selfish, just as deceitful, just as destructive, just as oversexualized, just as hopeless. It is Paul’s desire to create a culture there in the heart of the Roman empire that is rooted in the Gospel of Christ, rooted in the hope of eternal life, rooted in the love of Jesus…to create a Gospel culture. So, how does he seek to accomplish this great task? By providing us with a book that is nothing less than a treatise on the Gospel: The Letter to the Romans! What does Gospel culture look like in Paul’s letter to the church in Rome? We find the answer in Romans 1:8-15. But it can be boiled down to the six following characteristics, beginning with the fact that… Gospel Culture Celebrates Kingdom In-breaking After Paul’s initial greeting in Romans 1:1-7, Paul follows first century letter-writing etiquette by expressing thanks for those he is writing to. At the heart of Paul’s thanksgiving, however, is his gratitude that the Gospel is changing lives in the heart of the Roman empire. The in-breaking of God’s Kingdom, of Gospel Culture, is happening even in Rome. If we would embrace Gospel Culture over and against the crazed culture all around us, then we must celebrate the ways we see God’s Kingdom producing real change all over our world. Naturally, thanksgiving over the Gospel’s spread leads to the next characteristic… Gospel Culture Prays for Believers Not just occasional prayer, Paul is moved to pray constantly for the believers in Rome. What we see here is a wonderful example for believers today who would embrace Gospel Culture—to be praying for fellow-followers of Jesus, including the persecuted church around the Globe, missionaries faithfully taking the Gospel message to the unreached, and those in our own local fellowship of believers. We’ve got to be praying for each other! More specifically, we see in Paul’s prayer that… Gospel Culture Craves Fellowship Paul longs to visit the believers in Rome that he might bless and encourage them and that they might bless and encourage him. Authentic fellowship is key to growth as a disciple of Christ. And as made clear in Scripture, authentic fellowship is centered in the weekly gathering of Christ’s church, a reality that has come under severe attack in recent years. The ease with which we set aside weekly worship is especially ironic when we consider stories like that of Eric Liddell (Chariots of Fire) who gave up the chance to race for an Olympic medal out of his conviction to prioritize weekly sabbath. And it stands in stark contrast to the challenge in Hebrews 10:25, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” But it isn’t just about my personal spiritual needs because… Gospel Culture Gives and Takes Even the apostle Paul, whose worldwide impact is second only to Jesus, recognized his own need for “mutual” encouragement from the believers in Rome. When we marginalize fellowship, we not only miss out on the encouragement of others, they miss out on encouragement from us, for… Gospel Culture Grows Together Paul speaks of having a harvest in the church at Rome, a word that simply means fruit. When we minister God’s Word to each other, we experience more fruitful, God-blessed lives. But at the heart of this ministry is the Gospel… Gospel Culture Longs to Share Good News Gospel means good news, which is the very thing Paul is eager to preach to the Romans. This may seem odd since he addresses them as saints, as those who have embraced the Good News. Yet what it reveals is that the need for Gospel-preaching does not end when we place our faith in Christ, for it is the perpetual life-source for the follower of Jesus. Gospel is not merely a concept to accept, it is a way of life, our modus operandi, the heartbeat of the believer and the church. May God increasingly grow within His church, within Renton Bible, among the churches in the Renton Gospel Network, and around the globe, a Gospel-centered culture!
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Dan GannonDan has ministered at Renton Bible Church, with his wife Debbie, since 2003. Archives
June 2022
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