Okay, the book that we are studying now is the book of Romans. And I'd like you please to take with me your Bibles and turn to Romans chapter 1 as we are continuing to look into that wonderful letter that Shaul, Paul, wrote to the Romans believers, introducing himself first of all to them in chapter 1 and revealing to them who he really is and actually by writing to them he wanted to communicate with them what I believe all of us need as believers in the Lord Jesus, the Lord Yeshua the Messiah. You know, brothers and sisters, that the Lord want us to grow spiritually. The Lord want us to appreciate what he had done for us through Yeshua, through the Lord Jesus, the Messiah.

He want us, God want us to grow and to mature spiritually. Now, we are studying already the book of Romans in our Bible class, and we have arrived, as I've said before, to chapter 12. But I wanted specifically in these ministry meetings to emphasize specifically the first chapters of the book of Romans, which every believer in Yeshua, the Messiah, need to grasp, to get a hold of as we are growing, as we live for the Lord and we walk with our Savior day by day. And so Romans chapter 1, we have covered verses 1 to 7 already. And in these verses, verses 1 to 7, we have seen how the apostle introduces himself to the believers, and he's introducing himself by giving his credentials, by telling them who actually he was, who he is.

But today we're going to continue from verse 8, and in these verses, verses 8 to 17, he gives them additional information about himself and his concern for those believers. And so, follow up as I'm reading from verse 8 of Romans chapter 1. He's saying to them, "First, I thank my God through Yeshua the Messiah, through Jesus Christ, for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing, I make mention of you always in my prayers, making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.

For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end that ye may be established, that is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. Now, I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that often time I purposed to come unto you, but I was let hitherto that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles. I am a debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the unwise. So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For therein, the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, the just shall live by faith. I am stopping here in verse 17 and I trust with the Lord's help to finish here from verses 8 to 17 in this ministry meeting today. Now, let me remind you that as we are reading the book of Roman, we have to have one thing specifically in mind, is that the theme of the book of Roman is the righteousness of God.

God, by virtue of the work that he had accomplished through his Son, has provided for us, you and I, righteousness which we could have never gained on our own. God, by virtue of the price that his Son paid for us on the cross, on the tree, provided for us justification which we could have never gained on our own. Not by works of righteousness, not by keeping laws, not by duties and deeds, not by any other means, beloved brothers and sisters, you and I could ever stand the right before God. The theme of the book of Romans is the righteousness of God. And you know what, brothers and sisters, let me tell you that today, every one of us in this room that belong to Yeshua, the Messiah, every one of us can say with assurance on the basis of the word of God, We can say with assurance that God is looking at us and say, I'm accepted, I'm accepting you because of what Yeshua, Jesus, the Messiah, had accomplished for us on the cross, on the tree.

And so, in the first seven verses, Paul, Shaul introduced himself to the brothers and sisters at Rome. Remember, he had never been there. He had never seen most of them, if not all of them, he had never seen some of them he mentioned later on at the end of the letter, but he actually never been at Rome. So, he's introducing himself. So, he's introducing himself. He's telling them who he was. And you remember what he said to them? He said to them in the earlier verses of chapter one, he said actually four things about himself. He says, number one, I am a servant. Number two, I am an apostle.

Number three, I am a preacher of the gospel. And number four, I am an apostle to you Gentiles at Rome. I am a servant, I am an apostle, I am a preacher, and I am an apostle who is called by God to serve the Gentile world. The nations of the world. A servant, an apostle, a preacher, and a preacher who is preaching to the nations of the world. And so, as he introduced himself in such a way, he showed them, he's telling them who he was. But now he's continuing here in verses eight, all the way to verse 15. And there he is telling them about his concern for those believers.

Romans 1 verses 8 to 15, he shows them the concern that he had. And brothers and sisters, I want to tell you today that you and I also need to show concern for other believers. It is an important thing to be characterized by concern for other people, by the fact that we care for other believers. And so, look what he's telling them beginning from verse eight. The first thing he's telling them in verse eight, that he's thankful for those brothers and sisters. Look, verse eight, he's saying, and I'm reading, verse eight, I thank my God through Yeshua the Messiah for you all. That your faith is spoken throughout the whole world.

You see, he has never been at Rome. He has never seen those brothers and sisters in Rome. But one thing he can tell them to these believers, he says, listen, your faith is spread throughout the whole world. Everybody knew that those brothers and sisters at Rome were believers in the Lord Jesus the Messiah. They had such a testimony that existed in their lives that as he says here in verse eight, he says, your faith is spoken of. He said he's spoken of throughout the whole world, everywhere that the Roman world, the world that they have occupied, the then Roman world. Everybody knew about the believers at Rome.

Everybody know that they belong to this Jesus, Yeshua HaMashiach, the Lord Jesus, the Messiah. They knew about their faith. Now, sometimes when we think of ourselves, I wonder even if our neighbors know that we're believing in the Lord Jesus. I wonder if the people around us can say that this person, this brother, this sister, that you and I are believers in the Lord Jesus the Messiah. Their faith was so evident that others around the world knew that they are belonging to the Lord Jesus. And he said, I thank my God through Jesus the Messiah for you all. By the way, he was at that time writing from Corinth.

And as he's writing from Corinth, he hears about the faith of those believers at Rome and their testimony for the Lord. You know, it's so powerful when others around us can tell us, listen, this group of people have a real testimony for Jesus. Maybe they are not perfect, and we know they are not perfect, but they have a testimony that they belong to the Lord Jesus the Messiah. It's an evident in their lives. When somebody comes into our midst, and he's an unbeliever, can he say, wow, I really have been in the presence of a company that has spoken about the one Savior, namely Yeshua the Messiah.

It is amazing testimony to have that somebody can say that I'm so thankful to God, Yeshua the Messiah for you all, because your faith is spoken throughout the whole world. Beloved, this is very challenging to us. Paul is mentioning this when he's writing to the Roman believers. So he's thankful. You know, he's thankful. We need to be thankful for our brothers and sisters. We may not agree and see eye to eye with them at everything in their life, but nevertheless, we have to be thankful. You don't know how thankful I am when I'm coming to Shabbat meeting or to a Friday meeting and we are sitting together with maybe it is 5, 10, 20 people around the table and studying the word of God.

You don't know how thankful I am for my brothers and my sisters that we can enjoy some time together around the Lord that we should enjoy beyond our meetings or not only for the meeting. But the point is that we need to learn to be thankful for each other, not only to see the wrong thing in each other, but to see that which is from Christ, from the Messiah in the life of our brothers and our sisters. Remember, Paul never saw these believers. He only heard about them. He hasn't been at Rome as yet. And he's looking forward to be there and to be with them.

But he says, I heard your faith is being spread throughout the whole world. But not only this. He's continuing in verses 9 and 10. And there he's moving to the next thing that he's mentioning to the believers at Rome. The next thing we find out that he's not only thankful for them, verse 8, but he's also praying for them. Verses 9 and 10. "God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, making request if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you." Here we find the apostle Paul praying for the people at Rome.

Well, Paul, you pray for your family, for your friends, for the people who serve with you. How do you have the time to pray for others at Rome, which you don't even really have never been there, never seen? But Paul, apparently, was the kind of a man that was a praying man. He was committed, he was separated unto the gospel of God, and he was so concerned for the believers at Rome that he was constantly praying for his brothers and sisters whom he haven't actually visited and have seen. It's amazing to see that, beloved brothers and sisters. Here he shows to them, he's telling the believers at Rome what he thinks about them.

He is thankful for them, but he's also praying for his brothers and sisters at Rome. I mentioned it many times, let me mention this again. If we will pray for each other more, you will see what a difference it's going to make in our lives. If we will pray for each other more, you will see how our attitude towards our brothers and sisters will change. If we will pray for each other more, you will see how much peace it's going to give us in our own lives. If we will pray for each other more, what a glory we're going to give to our blessed God and our blessed Lord.

That's what we need in our lives. That's what Paul is telling to the believers that he says, listen, I'm praying for you. And by the way, the apostle Paul was a man of prayer and almost every epistle that he wrote, he mentioned the word prayer. It says in chapter 12 of the book of Roman, he says, continue instant in prayer. In Ephesians chapter 6, he says, praying always. In Philippians chapter 4 and verses 6 and 7, he says, in everything by prayer and supplication, make your request. Let your request be made known unto God. In the book of Thessalonians, he says in 1 Thessalonians 5, he says, pray without ceasing. One of the shortest verses in the Bible.

In the book of Colossians, he says in Colossians chapter 4, he says, continue in prayer. Prayer. Prayer. What is prayer? You don't have to be a scholar to know what prayer is. Prayer is lifting up our hearts and words coming out of our mouth saying, Lord, I want you to help. I want you to encourage. I want to pray for my brothers and sisters who are going through various challenges in their life. Lord, minister to your people. That's what prayer is. Paul was praying for them. He showed this in his life. He says, for God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit. Serve with my spirit in the gospel of his son.

That without ceasing, I make mention of you always in my prayer. You know, he didn't just tell them this to make them happy in that sense. He told them the sincerity of his heart. That was real in the life of Shaul, of Paul. He was praying for the people of God. How about us, brothers and sisters? Is it something that you and I would desire to do to pray for our brothers and sisters? I'm sure we would. Sometimes we are so busy. We are occupied with ourselves. We are occupied with other things. And we don't take the time to pray for our brothers and sisters.

I would like to challenge all of us to pray for our fellowship. To pray. You know, every Shabbat we mention the radio program. The Bible classes. The Shabbat meeting. And so, don't you think it's important to pray for that? I can say that you would agree with me. Yes, Brother Gideon. We agree with you. We really need to pray for that. Let's take like the Apostle Paul. A few minutes every day. And praying for our brothers and sisters. Some in particular. Some in general. And to just commit the needs that they have to the Lord Jesus, the Messiah. So, he is thankful in verse 8. He is a praying person for them in verses 9 and 10.

Notice now what we read in verses 11 and 12. In verses 11 and 12, you see that he longed for them. He really longed for them. In verse 11 he said, "For I long to see you." I want to see you. That I may impart unto you some spiritual gift to the end that ye may be established. That is, that I may be comforted together with you by a mutual faith both of you and of me. You see, here we see the fact that the Apostle Paul had the heart of a shepherd. A pastor. You know, pastor is not a title. It's not something we have on the door there that we say, "I am a pastor." A pastor is a shepherd.

A shepherd is a person that gives care for the sheep. He is a shepherd. He is concerned for the people of God. So, here we see a person such as the Apostle Paul. He says, "Listen, I desire." He says in those verses 11 and 12, he says, "I long to see you." I want to see you. Why, Paul? Why do you want to see the brothers and sisters at Rome? You see why I want to see you? Because I want to impart unto you some spiritual gift to the intent that you may be established. Now, Paul did not have like a bag with gifts that he was going to give spiritual gifts.

He was not the one who gives gifts. It is the resurrected Messiah, the glorified Lord, who gave gifts unto men. Every gift that you and I have is a gift that we receive from the glorified Messiah, from the Lord. But what he wanted is that when he is meeting with them and he will be with them, he might be encouraging them to stimulate the gift that the Lord had given to them and to develop them, that they will be maturing and growing and be an established believers in Yeshua, the Messiah. It is sad to see Christians that have been saved already 10, 20, 30 years are not established.

Wavering from right to left, from left to right. Every wind of doctrine. Everybody come and they say something and they are doing this way. They heard someone there, they go this way. It is so sad to see believers that are not established in the truth of the Word of God. How do we get established? We get established when we are occupied with the Lord and we are consistently following after the Lord, stumbling a time, falling a time and yet getting up and continuing on, establishing the truth, studying the Scripture, being under the sound of the Word, being in encouragement, receiving encouragement from the things of the Lord and not from the world and all its influence and not from Satan and all his arrows that he shoots at us.

Established in the things of the Lord. Established, growing, maturing. I want you to turn to Ephesians chapter 4 for a moment for a verse there. Ephesians chapter 4. The same apostle wrote to the believers at Ephesus and he told them the very same thing that we are hearing of Paul telling to the Romans believers. In Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 11, we read this. He, this is the Messiah, Yeshua, our Lord, the glorified Mashiach. He gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers. Why? Verse 12. For the perfecting of the saints. For the work of the ministry. For the edifying of the body of Christ, the body of Mashiach.

Why? Until they will all come into the unity of faith. And of the knowledge of the Son of God. And to a mature man. And to a measure of the stature of the fullness of the Messiah. And listen to verse 14. Verse 14. That we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the slight of men and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive. See what he's saying here in this letter to the Ephesians believers. Believers, he says, listen, the gifts that God had given, that the Messiah, the glorified head from heaven had given unto us.

Why? So we will grow, that we will mature, that we will no longer be tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine. That's what Paul is saying to the people at Rome. He says, I am as a shepherd, want to come to see you. I'm longing to see you, brothers and sisters at Rome, for the purpose that you will be established. Established. You know, we often look at ourselves from a physical point of view in this world. We see this person. He's established here in this world. He got a home. He got a car. He got a bank account. He's established. He got a good job.

He's established. A newcomer who comes from one country to another country, he's starting a new life and he's not yet established. He needs to spend some time. He needs to grow. He needs to have work. He needs to develop. He takes some time until he's established in a new country. What's spiritually speaking is just the same. A newborn babe become a child of God. A person become a child of God. He needs to continuing on to nurse, to mature, to feed on the word, the sincere milk of the word that he may grow thereby. Thereby, Peter said it to the early believers. And so, Paul's saying the same thing.

He's saying, listen, I want so much to come to see you. I long to see you because as a shepherd, as a pastor, as a spiritual leader, I want to see you established, growing in the things of the Lord. And why? Notice verse 12. That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. You know, he needed also to be comforted. You know, you often think, we often look at those spiritual leaders and we think, what do they need? You see, we need all the time to come to them and we need to get encouragement from them.

And then we need to tell them our needs and we need to tell them our problem. And we need to tell them everything. But, you know, they're okay. They're like a wall. Everything can go to them. They can like a sound board, you know. Everything is fine with them. Well, Paul had a need too. Paul said, listen, I want to be comforted by you also. Not only I am to comfort you, he's telling to the believers at Rome. They'll be mutual, two-sided. And that's what he's telling the brothers and sisters at Rome. He says, listen, that is that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith of yours and of mine.

And he needed that as well. You know, later on, Paul was in jail when he got to Rome, by the way. He was in bonds. He was locked in. He was in a house. People could come to visit him, but he could not do what he wants. And he needed an encouragement also. And so he's telling them, listen, that's the third thing. I'm not only thankful to God for you, I'm not only praying for you, but I want to see you. I love you, brothers and sisters at Rome. And I want to come to you so you can benefit, you can be established, so we can be an encouragement to each other.

There is an older brother in Niagara or the lake area that almost every week we have some time together. He's an older brother. He's about 80 years of age. And I always go with him, walk with him. And we often speak about the things of the Lord. That's what he enjoys so much to talk about. And I tell you, so nice to be able to have iron sharpening iron. To come and to talk about this subject and this subject. To share the issues of life, the problems of life. And we can share with each other and hear him and he hears me. And it's such an encouragement because we all need someone and more than one.

We can bounce things to each other. Share with each other and be encouraged. The mutual encouragement by one another. So he is thankful. He is praying. He is a loving shepherd who cares for them, wants to see them. But now notice he moving on into verse 13 and 14. And there he is telling to them that he has a debt that he owes unto them. Verses 13 and 14. Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that often time I purpose to come unto you, but I was let hither too. That I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles. I am a debtor. I am a debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians.

Both to the wise and unto the unwise. This is the fourth thing that he is telling them now, when it's come to sharing with them what he thinks about them. He already told them that he is thankful for them. He told them he is praying for them. He told them that he loves them. But now he is telling them that he is a debtor. He owe them and others among the Gentile world that he have a debt. A debt to the people of the world that he have. And that's why he is telling them, notice he is calling them brethren. This is, by the way, I believe the first time in the book of Romans that we have the word brethren.

Achim, brethren. There were brothers and sisters in Mashiach, in Christ. They were not Jewish. They were not his physical brother. They were not Jewish by physical birth. But they were his brethren on the basis of the fact that they believed in Yeshua, the Messiah. I do not want you, brethren, to be ignorant that often time I purpose to come unto you. He wanted to come to them. I tried. I purpose. I had in my mind to visit you. And perhaps, maybe perhaps they looked at him and they say, Paul, you know, he is from a Jewish faith. His Jewish background. Maybe he really didn't want to come.

Why doesn't he come? So he is telling them here, listen, I really purposed to come to you. I really had in mind to come unto you. But somehow, he said, I was let hitherto. In other words, I intended, but I was hindered. Something had happened to me and I couldn't come to you. But I wanted to come to you. Why? That I might have some fruit among you, even as among other Gentiles. He visited there. He was at Corinth, visiting the believers at Corinth. He was visiting other places, but he didn't get to Rome. So Paul is showing to them that he really meant to come to visit them at Rome.

But somehow, some things have come across and he could not arrive yet unto them. So he tells them, listen, I am a debtor. I am in debt to you. Paul said, I feel that I owe you something. I feel that I am a debtor. He is a debtor to the Greeks, to the barbarians. He is a debtor to the wise and to the unwise. The Greeks, by the way, who had been occupied with philosophy, always thought that they were much superior to the others. And that's why there is a distinction between the Greeks and the barbarians. The barbarians, they were not the ones that knew philosophy.

They were the simple ones. And the comparison here is between the Greeks and the barbarians. The Greeks were the wise and the barbarians were the unwise. The Greeks often times have thought that they were superior by virtue of the fact that they know philosophy. They were wise. They were superior than the others. And so Paul said, listen, I am a debtor to the Greeks. I am a debtor to the barbarians. I am a debtor to the wise and I am a debtor to the unwise. Why did he feel like that? You know why? He felt that the information that he has concerning the person of the Lord Jesus the Messiah.

And the righteousness that he had provided for him and for mankind. He felt that he was a debtor to everyone in this world. That he owes something. He owes to men, but he owes to God to share this with men. Because he had the information. A lost world that knew no salvation, knew no justification. A pagan world owed to share with them the message that he had. I am a debtor. I owe you something. I want to come to you and I want to share these things with you. Now remember, brothers and sisters, he's calling them brethren. And the point that we learn here, we're going to see that as we move on in this book of Romans, that the gospel is not only the good news that we can be saved through the Lord Jesus the Messiah, but the gospel is a far larger concept and truth than merely only salvation.

Though that is the beginning. The truth of the gospel is far larger than only get saved and go to heaven. The gospel is a body of truth that is larger than only how to get your sins forgiven. Is what it meant by that. And what's the price that God had provided. And how God can be a holy God and yet allow a sinful man to be justified. And how God could forgive sins. And how the relationship that we have been brought into as believers in Yeshua the Messiah is a large theme. The gospel. And he said, I'm a debtor to speak to you brethren. To mature you.

To develop you. To help you to grow spiritually. To establish you. And I'm a debtor unto you. And I wanted to come to share with you much more than what you already know. And so he's saying to them in verses 13 and 14 that he is a debtor. He was in debt because of the gift of the revelation that he had received from God. He was a debtor to share with those believers at Rome. Much more than what he had received. The revelation that he had received from the Lord Jesus the Messiah. The Messiah. And so we are continuing here in this passage. And so verses 8 to 15.

So far he is thankful for them. Verse 8. He is praying for them. Verses 9 and 10. He longed to see them. Verses 11 and 12. And he felt that he was in debt to those believers at Rome. In verses 13 and 14. Because of the revelation that he had received from the glorified Mashiach. And finally in verse 15. He is telling them that he is eager. He is eager, zealous, ready to visit them. To come to see them. This is verse 15. So I saw as much as it is within me. I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome. Again you notice how interesting. He said I am ready to preach to you brethren.

The gospel. To you the gospel. You that are at Rome. Again you can see that when he is talking about the gospel. Here in the book of Romans. He means far larger truth. Body of truth. Than only the fact that you can get saved through faith in Christ. It is far more than just that. The larger body of truth. That he is speaking about here in those verses. So he is ready. He is eager. He is prepared to come to share with them. The message. The total body of truth. That is found in the gospel. You notice by the way. That is the second time that he used the word I am.

In verse 14. I am Detto. In verse 15. I am ready. I am Detto. And I am ready. I am eager. That word for ready. Is taken to be from the Greek. Not only merely ready. It is I am eager. I am eager. I really want to come to you dear brothers and sisters. At Rome. To preach unto you. The gospel. To you. That are at Rome. Also. He was going around. Establishing believers. In other local areas. Philippi. Ephesus. Corinth. And other places. But he haven't arrived to Rome. And he wanted to be so much there. Beloved brothers and sisters. So he can. Help them to mature.

And to grow. And he was eager. To do that. That is the. Desire of every. Pastor. Every spiritual. Leader. Who really want to see the believers. Growing. And maturing. And developing. In a most holy faith. And so. He is telling to them. I am not only a Detto. Verse 14. But I am also. Ready. I am eager. To come to you. To preach the gospel. To you. That are at Rome. And so. In those verses. Now. Verses 8 to 15. We see. The apostle Paul. Telling the believers. At Rome. What he is. Thinking. About them. He thinks. Very positive. Thoughts. About his brothers. And sisters. He is thankful.

He is prayerful. He is a loving one. He is a. In debt to them. And he is eager. To come. To see them. And to minister. To them. How about you and I. Where are we fitting. Into all these. Statements. Are we thankful. For our brothers. And sisters. Are we. Praying. For our brothers. And sisters. Do we love them. In some small measure. Even though. Often time. We are not. So lovable. What about. Feeling the debt. The necessity. The obligation. That we have. To minister to each other. To establish each other. In the truth of God. And what about. Willingness. Eagerness. To see the welfare.

And the growth. Of our brothers. And sisters. That is really spiritual life. That is a spiritual attitude. That we ought. To have. As brothers and sisters. In the Mashiach. In Christ. Well. I am moving on. To the last two verses. Verses. Sixteen. And seventeen. Here. In this passage. And I told you. When Paul introduces. And writing. This letter. To. The believers. At Rome. First of all. In the first. Seven verses. He. Introducing himself. Telling them. Who he was. Then in verses. Eight. To fifteen. That we just study. And finish. He is. Expressing to them. He is telling them. How much. He is thankful for them.

And now. In these next verses. Verses. Sixteen. And seventeen. He is telling. The brothers and sisters. In the gospel. He is telling them. What he thinks. Not so much. About them. Now. But what he thinks. About the gospel. What he thinks. About. What the Lord. Yeshua. The Messiah. Have done. And so. Here. Those two verses. Again. I want you. To notice that. Again. It is the third time. That he used the word. I am. In verse sixteen. I am not ashamed. Of the gospel. Of Mashiach. Of Messiah. Of Christ. Of Christ. Of Christos. Why Paul. Verse sixteen. B. For it is. The power. Of God.

And to salvation. To everyone. That believeth. To the Jew first. And also. To the Greek. For therein. Is the righteousness. Of God. Revealed. From faith. To faith. As it is written. The just. Shall live. By faith. Now here. Brothers and sisters. Is a. Very powerful. Two verses. That we have here. In Romans one. Verses sixteen. And seventeen. Here. Shaul. Here. Paul. Is showing. The brothers and sisters. In Rome. His confidence. His assurance. His confidence. In the gospel. He is telling them here. How sure. He is. In. This. Body. Of truth. That he wants to. Share. With the brethren. At Rome. And I want you to notice.

Three. Four. Five things here. In this verse. Especially verse sixteen. The first thing. He is telling them. I. Am not. Ashamed. Of the gospel. Of the Messiah. Of the gospel. Of Christ. You will see. You know. This word. Ashamed. Often times. Is being misunderstood. When we read such a verse. We. Think. Of some things. That we do. In our life. When we. Go. Outside of our home. And sit in a restaurant. And we are ready to eat. And we. Not ashamed. To give thanks. For the food. Then maybe. Other times. We are not ashamed. To wear a shirt. That says. Jesus saves. Or Yeshua saves.

Or other things. That we. Often times. Use as a symbol. The deeds. That we do. Concerning. The person of the Lord Jesus. And we say. We are not ashamed. Of the Lord Jesus Christ. And sometimes. Unfortunately. We are. Having to admit. We are ashamed. Because we do not want. Publicly. Identified with him. Because somehow. We are going to be. Persecuted. Or disliked. Because of. Our relationship. To him. And often times. Unfortunately. We are ashamed. Of the Lord. And our relationship. With him. Because we know. What it will mean. But I believe. Beloved brothers and sisters. That Paul does not talk about. Not being ashamed. To give thanks.

At the restaurant. He is not talking about. Not being ashamed. Of telling my neighbors. That I believe. In Jesus. When he is saying. I am not ashamed. Of the gospel. Of the Messiah. He is not talking about. Those things. But he is talking about. The fact. That here. He learned. A principle. A truth. That is so deep. That he have learned. By divine design. God revealed this to him. That here. He learned. About a fact. That there is a holy God. In heaven. Who. Righteously. And appropriately. Could destroy. The world. Whom he created. For his pleasure. A world. That have gone astray. And he is going to show it.

To us. Later on. And he has a right. To destroy this world. And yet. He was willing. To pay the price. Himself. That he. As a holy God. Can allow. A sinful man. To be brought unto himself. Without. Diminishing. One iota. From his holiness. One. One has said. Something like this. I do not understand. How can a holy God. Take a sinful man. Into his presence. Without. Tainting. His holiness. How is it possible. How is it possible. That a holy God. Can take a sinful race. And out of this race. Bring people to himself. To serve. Without. One. One. One. One. Deviating. From his holiness.

How is it possible. Paul is saying. I know. How it is possible. It is possible. Because of the gospel. Of our Lord Jesus. The Messiah. It is a possible. Because someone. Have done. Something. That was. Unimaginable. God. Himself. Is the source. You see. If you look at this verse. And you will see. The source. Of this gospel. Is the gospel. Of Christ. The gospel. Of the Messiah. The source. Of it. Is not from man. But the source. Of it. Is from God. That's why. We read. Three times. In this chapter. First of all. Verse one. It is the gospel. Of God. Verse nine. It is the gospel.

Of his son. Verse 16. The gospel. Of the Messiah. The source. Of these glad. Tidings. This news. For mankind. It is. Coming from God. It was not initiated. By man. And Paul. Is saying. I'm not ashamed. Of the gospel. Of Christ. Then he continued. And he's saying. What is the nature. Of this gospel. You see. He immediately said. I'm not ashamed. Of the gospel. Of the Messiah. For it is. The power. Of God. It is. The dynamite. Of God. It is. God's. Power. It is. The nature. Of it. It is. The power. Of God. God. Would not. Be. Able. To. Bring. A sinful. Man. To his.

Presence. Without. The gospel. God. Could not. Save us. By. Power. God. Could not. Save us. By. Unless. The Messiah. Pay the price. It is. God's. Dynamite. It is. God's. Power. He continued. And he's saying. What is the purpose. Of the gospel. I'm not ashamed. Of the gospel. Of the Messiah. For it is. The power. Of God. Unto. Salvation. The purpose. Of the gospel. Is to save. Sinful man. That's the purpose. The purpose. The purpose. Is to bring. You. And I. The purpose. Is to bring. The Romans. That he wrote. To. The purpose. Is to bring. Mankind. Unto. Himself. It is the. Power of God. But it is.

Unto. Salvation. The reason. That we have. The gospel. Is that people. Can get. Saved. And be brought. Back. Into a place. Through the sin. Of Adam. And his. Descendants. And so. The source. Is God. And the nature. Of it. Is the power. Of God. The purpose. Is to salvation. To bring. Men. To himself. To bring them. To make them. A saved. Company. A saved. A redeemed. People. But then. Look. It continues. Who is it for? What is the limitation. Of it? Notice. The gospel. Of the messiah. For it is the power. Of God. Unto salvation. And then. It says. To. Everyone. Nobody. In this world.

Can ever say. That it is not for him. Or not for her. It's for everyone. Jewish people. Our own people. Ourselves. The nations. Of the world. The gentile world. As well. Is not limited. Is not limited. For the nation. Of Israel. It is expanding. And it is beyond. The borders. Of Israel. It is to all. The nations. Of the world. To everyone. But who. Going to benefit. From that. Listen to this. To the next point. Who is the one. That going to benefit. From that. Who is the receivers. It says. Everyone. That what? That believeth. You cannot. Enjoy. That fact. Unless you. Believe. In the Lord Jesus.

The Messiah. Everyone. In order for. He. Or she. To benefit. From the gospel. Of God. The gospel. Of the Lord Jesus. The Messiah. Is one must believe. And accept it. And that's why. Paul is saying. To the Romans. I am not ashamed. Of the gospel. Of Messiah. For it is God's dynamite. God's power. To everyone. But to everyone. That believes. And notice. We cannot say. Well God loves. Everyone. He does. And I can go to heaven. And I've been right with God. Yes. You can. But if you don't believe. The gospel. Which is the work. Of Christ. The Messiah. On the tree. The death. The burial.

The resurrection. Of the Messiah. You cannot enjoy. What God has in mind. For mankind. I am not ashamed. Of the gospel. Of Christ. Of the Messiah. For it is the power. Of God. And to salvation. To everyone. That believe. And notice it. It says. It continues. In that verse. To the Jew first. And also. Unto the Greek. Now. I'm going to say something. That perhaps. Not everyone would agree with me on that. And often times. This part of the verse. Often times. People do not agree. And do not understand. The last part of the verse. Where it says. To the Jew first. And also to the Greek.

I believe. I believe the mistake. That people do. Do not see. When they say. It was to the Jew first. Two thousand years ago. And now. It is no longer. To the Jew first. But I want you to. Read this text. With me. One more time. Listen. It says. I am not ashamed. Of the gospel. Of Christ. And I want you to. Underline the word. It is. The word is. For it is. The power of God. Unto salvation. To the Jew first. And also. To the Greek. Or. To everyone that believed. To the Jew first. And also to the Greek. Now. If we take the word.

Is. And apply it. Only. To the word. Gospel. And not also. To the word. To the Jew first. Then we have a real problem here. Because. If the gospel was. Was. To the Jew first. And now. No longer. To the Jew first. Then we can say. That the gospel. Also. Was. The power of God. Unto salvation. And no longer. The power of God. Unto salvation. But you see. What the verse says. Very clearly. I am not ashamed. Of the gospel. Of Christ. For it. Is. Present. Tense. Continuous. Action. It is. Then. And now. It is. Now. The gospel. Unto salvation. And it is. Now. Also.

To the Jew first. And also. To the Greek. Now. I know. Not everybody. Sees that. And not everybody. Even agree with that. But beloved. I want to suggest to you. That you'll see. In the life. Of the apostle Paul. Wherever. He have gone. To preach. The gospel. In a city. In a town. He always went. To the Jew first. You read it. In the book of Acts. And I have. Some verses. If you just quickly. Mark them. In Acts chapter 13. He went to the synagogue. First of all. In Acts chapter 14. He went to the synagogue. First of all. In Acts chapter 16. When he went to Philippi.

He went. First of all. To look. For the Jewish people. In the city. In Acts chapter 17. In Acts chapter 18. 19. 28. Those chapters. Every time. That apostle Paul. Have gone. To preach. The gospel. In a city. He first of all. Have gone. To the synagogue. Of the Jews. Some accept him. Some did not. And he moved on. And he shared. With the rest of the city. The message. Of the gospel. I am not ashamed. Of the gospel. Of the Messiah. For it is. Present day. Present. Continuous. Way. It is. A present tense. It is. The power. Of God. And it is. Unto salvation. To everyone. That believed.

To the Jew. First. And also. Unto. The Greek. Today. How do we apply. This today. When we share. With the gospel. It doesn't mean. That now. When we go. To a certain place. We don't. Go to. Share the gospel. With a non-Jewish person. We go straight. To a Jewish person. There must be. In every community. Of believers. And reaching out. To the Jewish people. As well. How often time. We going. Visiting believers. And they don't have. Any exercise. Whatsoever. In sharing the gospel. With the Jewish people. As far as they are concerned. The Jews had their chance. They have denied the Lord. They did not know.

Accept Yeshua as the Messiah. God finished with the Jews. And now he is starting with us. I don't see it in the Bible. No well. Paul who was an apostle. To the Gentiles. Wherever he have gone. He have gone. First of all. To the Jewish synagogue. Share with them. That Yeshua was the Messiah. And that God is saving souls. And then. When they are. Rejected. Or whoever have accepted. He moved on. And he continued. To share the gospel. Elsewhere. So if you read this verse. It is. I am not ashamed. Of the gospel of Christ. For it is. Present day. It is number one. The power of God.

Number two. It is to the Jew first. If it is not to the Jew first. You cannot read this verse. In the same way. Because then. It is not the power of God. And to salvation. It was. The power of God. And to salvation. And it is no more. If you read it. In that way. It was to the Jew. And it is no more. Then it is. Was the power of God. And it is no longer. No. It is the power of God today. And it is. To the Jew first. Today. Now here. I am going to close with this. And listen to the last.

Verse. And the last verse. We have. Where he is. Summing it all up. Remember. I told you. That the theme. Of the book of Roman. Is the righteousness. Of God. And so. Verse 17. It says. For therein. What in? In this body of truth. In the gospel. In this body of truth. The righteousness. Of God. Revealed. From faith. Unto faith. In this body of truth. That is the gospel. God's righteousness. Righteousness. Is revealed. To all. From faith. Unto faith. In other words. It is starting. With faith. And it is continuing. In faith. Is from faith. Unto faith. There is an. Ongoing. Faith. To believe. Unto salvation.

But it is an. Ongoing. Life. Of faith. To continue. To follow. The Lord. Jesus. The Messiah. And he is quoting. To us. The Messiah. The Messiah. The Messiah. Torah. In his hand. He didn't have. The New Testament. He had the Tanakh. He had the law. Torah. He had the prophets. Nevi'im. He had the writing. Ketuvim. And so he is telling them. For it is written. And he is quoting. A verse. From the prophet. Habakkuk. Habakkuk. Chapter 2. And verse 4. The just. Shall live. By faith. Actually. It is six words. In English. But it is only three words. In Hebrew. In Hebrew. Ha Tzadik. Be'emunato. Yichyeh. Three words.

From Habakkuk 2. And verse 4. Ha Tzadik. Ha Tzadik. Is the just. Just. Be'emunato. Or in Hebrew. It is actually. Be'emunato. It means. By faith. Shall live. The righteous. The just. With his faith. Or by his faithfulness. Will live. This is a life. An ongoing life. Relationship. With God. Habakkuk. Chapter 2. And verse 4. And that verse. From Habakkuk 2. And verse 4. Is quoted. In three pieces. In the New Testament. In the New Testament. Is quoted. In the book of Galatians. Is quoted. In the book of Hebrews. And is quoted. In this book. In the book of Romans. And every book. Emphasizes. Different words. In the book of Romans. The emphasis.

Is the just. Justification. We have been justified. And because. We have been justified. God declared. The believer. Just. Just. In the book of Hebrews. The emphasis. Is. By faith. By faithfulness. Hebrews. Chapter 10. And the book of Galatians. Chapter 3. And verse. 11. Is the emphasis. Of the two words. Shall live. How shall the believer. Live. The justified one. Should live. In a faithful way. By his faithfulness. That's the thought. That we have. In those three epistles. And so. The apostle Paul. Quoting to us. In Romans. Chapter 1. Verse 16. Habakkuk 2. And verse 4. From the Old Testament. From the Tanakh. From the prophets. Where Habakkuk. Was told. By the Lord.

The just. Shall live. By his faithfulness. And that's what beloved brothers. And sisters. Paul is trying to tell. The Romans believers. They have been justified. And now. Because they have been justified. They should. Seek to live. Their lives. In a faithful. Way. By. Faith. In the Lord Jesus. The Messiah. On. Going. Living. As believers. In the Lord. Jesus. The Messiah. And so here. Three things. And I'm closing. We have covered. He introduces himself. To the brothers and sisters. At Rome. First of all. Verses 1 to 7. He told them. His credential. He was. A servant. An apostle. A preacher. And a preacher. Unto the Gentiles. Then he's telling them.

In verses. 8 to 15. He's telling them. What he thinks. About them. He's. Thankful for them. He's praying. For them. He loves them. He feel in debt. Towards them. And he's ready. To visit. Those brothers and sisters. In Rome. And thirdly. In verses. 16 and 17. He's telling. The believers. What he thinks. About the gospel. And the confidence. That he have. In the gospel. It was originated. By God. It is the power. Of God. To salvation. It is to. Everyone. And it is to. Everyone. That believe. And now. He's closing. And he's saying. In this gospel. It is the. The righteousness. Of God. Revealed. In this body. Of truth.

The righteousness. Of God. Revealed. From faith. Unto faith. It is. As it is written. The just. Shall live. By his. Faithfulness. Shall live. By his. Faithfulness.