Today's Gospel vs. the Truth | Journeying Through the Book of Romans Season 1

Rabbi K.A. Schneider: It's not about God becoming a magic genie that all I have to do is use the right formula and he gives me the American dream. So I want you to pay real careful attention to what the word of God teaches us about the true gospel. You know the scripture says be still and know that I am God. And there's something about being in the deep forest like this, spending a little time here just being alone with God. There's something that happens that isn't quite easily assimilated when we're out in the busyness of life. The scripture says that Jesus often went away to a lonely place to pray. And he went oftentimes into the mountains just like we're here today in Colorado. I want to bring you today back to the book of Romans. We are in a series that I'm calling journeying through the book of Romans. And I want to take considerable time in the series. And beloved, the reason I want to take time as we go through the book of Romans is because the book of Romans is the gospel that was once and for all delivered to the church by the apostles. And so today we're picking up in verse number 16 of chapter one. And Paul begins by saying this, for I am not ashamed of the gospel. Now I want to just point out as I said in the previous two aspects, if we want to know what the gospel is, we have to find out what the scripture tells us the gospel's about. Because the gospel that's being preached today oftentimes is not the gospel that was once and for all delivered to the saints. Paul later wrote in one of his writings, if anyone comes to you bringing a different gospel than the one I've brought, let him be accursed. So we want to pay very careful attention as to what the word of God says the gospel is. You see the primary difference between the gospel, which is not the real gospel that we're often hearing today in contemporary society versus the gospel that is written in the word of God. The primary difference, beloved one, is that the gospel that we're hearing today in the contemporary church is a gospel that is, listen, me-centered. m e The gospel that we're predominantly hearing today is me-centered. It's all about God is presented to us through contemporary preaching oftentimes in such a way that we take God to use him to achieve the American dream. In other words, if you believe in God, he'll give you your best life now. If you believe in God, he's going to answer all your problems with your finances, with your marriage. You're going to get a job promotion. You're going to be successful, wealthy, and happy. And it's all about God making us happy. It becomes all about us rather than it being a gospel that is first of all about glorifying him, about glorifying the creator. You see the gospel that Paul gave to us was a gospel that begins when mankind recognizes the evil in his heart, his sinful state, that because of his sin he's separated from God and hell-bound. And that because of this sinful separation between God and man, in the Lord's compassion, Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob fulfilled his promises in the Hebrew Bible by sending a redeemer who is Jesus, the descendant of Abraham. And if we will come to the God of Israel through Jesus, God will take away our sin and bring us into fellowship with himself. This is what the true gospel is. It's not about God becoming a magic genie that all I have to do is use the right formula and he gives me the American dream. So I want you to pay real careful attention to what the word of God teaches us about the true gospel. Because remember Paul said if anyone comes preaching a different gospel, let him be a curse. Beloved, you and I need to pay attention to God's word. So let's continue verse 16 chapter one of Romans. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Now the English word salvation here is taken from the original Greek manuscript in which the New Testament was first written. And the original New Testament word for salvation is called sozo in the Greek. And what it means is wholeness, spirit, soul, mind, and body. So when Paul says that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation, what Paul is actually saying is is that through receiving Jesus we're brought into wholeness with God. And this wholeness all comes through relationship. It causes us to have shalom, completeness, spirit, soul, mind, and body. So that the deepest longing is the human soul are met in God, not with things, but in God. You see Jesus said this is eternal life, that you would know God and Jesus whom now has sent. So this good news, this gospel that Paul is bringing is designed to bring us unto salvation, which makes us whole in Jesus simply because we're in relationship, we're in unity with our creator. Let's continue on. He says I am not ashamed to the gospel in verse 16. I want you to consider this. Paul said I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it's the power of God unto salvation. Now as I just said that many of us it didn't really rise us through that much. You're listening to me and maybe you're even paying attention and engaged, but somehow it didn't strike you. When Paul said I am not ashamed of the gospel, that phrase for many of you, it didn't strike you. But I want it to strike us. There's another portion in the New Testament, the written word of God, where Paul tells us do not be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord. Now I consider myself, beloved once, a pretty bold witness for Jesus. I mean when I first got saved in 1978, I mean if you were in back of me at the grocery store, I would have turned around and started witnessing to you. Because I knew that Jesus said you shall be my witness. And I didn't know if I'd ever have an opportunity again to witness to that person in back of me at the grocery store. So I said I better do it now. So I am simply saying that I consider myself a bold witness for Jesus. But you know what I recognized? Even I sometimes have to reject being ashamed of the gospel. What do I mean by that? Please forgive me God for even saying that. But I recognized it in myself. I had a little card that I got printed up. It's called who am i.com, which is a little business size card. And it has three questions on the back of it. Where did I come from? Why am I here? Is there more than this? And then on the reverse side of the card it just says our website, who am i.com. And when people go to that website I present the gospel to them. So I was in my car one day getting ready to go into, I forget even what kind of store it was. And I had some of those cards in my vehicle. And I said to myself I'll bring that card in. And when you check out at the store, give one of the cards to the person that 's checking you out. And you know what I sensed even in myself a hesitancy like oh why do I want to do that? They're just going to reject me. They're just going to think I'm some weirdo. They're just going to think I'm some kook. But I said no. Do not be ashamed of the gospel or of the testimony of the Lord. And I know that there's some that are listening to me right now and you've really struggled with this. I want to encourage you. Come out of your comfort zone. I know it's hard. I'm not condemning you. God loves us, but we have to, beloved, be his witnesses. Paul rejected being ashamed of the gospel. And so we're continuing on here. I want to keep moving forward, but I want you to take this seriously. We need to be his witnesses. We need to reject the shame cuz Paul said I will not be ashamed. That's the opposite of being ashamed. We need to reject letting the devil shame us for being bold testimonies in the earth for Jesus. Now you know I talk about this a lot, but I'm an evangelist and I'm just trying to transfer the anointing, beloved, that's on me into you so that we all can be bold witnesses.
Dustin Roberts: You're listening to Discovering the Jewish Jesus and Rabbi Schneider will be right back. But first here's a testimony from a listener who's been touched by Rabbi's teachings.
Guest (Female): I was a witch all my life. I started using drugs and alcohol. I gave my life to Jesus. You were the reason I did.
Dustin Roberts: Amen. Thank you, Lord. And to submit your testimony go to discoveringthejewishjesus.com. Just click on ministry and submit your testimony today. Your support can change lives. Every day people around the world are coming to know Jesus as their Messiah through this ministry. Whether you give a one-time donation or commit to a monthly partnership, your contribution, it helps us to keep spreading the gospel and reaching hearts in need. To donate or become a monthly partner, visit discoveringthejewishjesus.com or call 800-777-7835. Now here's Rabbi Schneider.
Rabbi K.A. Schneider: So let's continue verse 16 chapter one of Romans. For I'm not ashamed of the gospel, for it's the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Now this is another point. I know we're going slow, but this needs to be pointed out. Because you know what is so unfortunate is that many people in the church they feel, you know what, the gospel is good for the Gentile, but they think the Jewish people, do they really need the gospel? Many people that consider themselves Christians, they won't witness to Jewish people because they think who am I to witness to Jewish people? They're God's chosen people. I'm not going to force my Jesus on them. And many Christians shrink back from testifying about the Messiahship of Jesus to the Jewish people. But notice what Paul said in verse 16. He said the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. Now listen, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Paul didn't say the gospel is the power of salvation to the Gentile. He didn't say the gospel is the power of God just to the Greek. He said it's to the Jew and the Greek. Either Jesus is the savior of the world or he's the savior of none. Either he's the Messiah of everybody or he's the Messiah of no one. He is the only message that brings salvation. And so don't ever be intimidated by presenting your faith, beloved, to a Jewish person. They need Jesus just as much as you do. This is why Yeshua said to his own beloved kinsmen, the Jewish people, he said to the Jewish people unless you believe that I am he, meaning the Messiah, meaning the sent one that they were expecting, he said unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins. In the Torah Moses said the Lord's going to send to you speaking to Israel a prophet from amongst you just like me. And Moses said whoever does not listen to him will be cut off. In the beginning of book of Acts Peter said Messiah Jesus is that one that Moses was speaking to. Moses said to the Jewish people God's going to raise up from you and for you a prophet, a deliverer just like me. And anybody that does not listen to him will be cut off. And so Jesus, beloved, is the savior of all. Again if he's not the savior of everybody, he's the savior of none. So Paul says it's the gospel that saves people to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Now let's listen to the next verse, verse 17. For in it, he's speaking of the gospel now, in it the righteousness of God is revealed. What does Paul mean when he says in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed? Well to understand what Paul was referring to there, let's look in verse number one and two of this same chapter. Paul is introducing himself in his message and he says this, Paul, a bond servant of Christ Jesus, of Yeshua the Messiah, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God. Now listen, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures. So Paul said he had been made a messenger, an emissary, a sent one to announce this message in verse number two, which God promised he would bring beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures. In other words, in the Hebrew Bible, in the Torah and in the Hebrew prophets God had prophesied that he would raise up a deliverer, that he would send a Messiah. The Jewish people were waiting for this. The time that Jesus came to the earth there were such messianic expectation. And many false prophets and false Messiahs had already arisen in Israel. But God finally in the fullness of time sent forth the true Messiah. He sent forth his son. And so Paul said in sending forth his son, in bringing the gospel to us through Yeshua, his righteousness had been revealed. Why had his righteousness been revealed? Because, beloved, he did what he promised he would do. He promised that he would send somebody once again in verse number two, promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures. And now we did it. And because he did it God's righteousness is revealed. He does what he says he's going to do. He's faithful. So we're continuing now, for in this gospel and God bringing it forth in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. As it is written, the righteous man shall live by faith. And what is happening here is the scripture writer Paul is highlighting the whole fact that salvation has always been through faith. We think about the first Jew, Abraham. How did Abraham come into a relationship with God? Did he do it by keeping the Ten Commandments? No. Cuz the Ten Commandments hadn't been given yet. But Abraham came into a relationship with God by faith. God came to him. He heard God's voice. He believed God. And the scripture said it was counted unto him as righteousness. Yeshua, the scripture tells us, is the seed of Abraham. It is that which Abraham promised. When Abraham, when God said to Abraham through your seed, Abraham, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, Yeshua was that seed. Once again the book of Galatians we read that this is taken from the Torah as well, but we find it quoted in the book of Galatians where God said to Abraham in the Torah Abraham, through your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. And then Paul in the book of Galatians tells us that the seed that God was referring to when he spoke that to Abraham in the book of Genesis is Jesus. So how did Abraham come into relationship with the Lord? Through faith. How do we come into relationship with the Lord today? Through Yeshua, through faith. And so we find in verse 17 that this gospel, this message of salvation, it's been from faith to faith. It started with Abraham and it culminates through faith in King Jesus. Now next time we get together I'm going to be talking to you about the beginning of understanding the reason that God had ascend the Messiah. God loves us. He desires us to be happy because he's a happy God. But unless we understand the seriousness of sin and its consequences, we will never truly have apprehended why Jesus came, why his blood was shed, why he was nailed to the cross. And so we find in verse number 18 for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. Now remember what I said earlier in today's episode. The book of Romans is the most comprehensive doctrinal statement we have in the entire word of God to understand our New Testament faith in Father God through Jesus. It is the gospel. If we don't understand the main concepts in the book of Romans, we will not understand the gospel. And how does Paul begin to help us understand the gospel? Number one he tells us it's good news, it's the power of God for salvation. And then he tells us in verse number 18 what it is we need to be saved from. And what Paul tells us in verse 18 that we need to be saved from, beloved ones, is the wrath of God. Listen again. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness. I want to talk to you next time about the wrath of God and the fear of God. Not to cause you to feel condemned, but to help us understand, beloved, how serious sin and its consequences are. And to receive into our heart the precious truth that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The fear of the Lord is clean and it converts the soul. We need to walk, beloved, in the love of God and in loving God. We also have to have a holy fear of him because the love of God and the holy fear of God together transform us and conform us to the image of Jesus. You see even Yeshua said don't fear man that can kill the body, fear God who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Think about this. Most of us know the miracle of Yeshua multiplying the loaves and the fish. But in order for the loaves and the fish to be multiplied that resulted in the feeding of thousands, they first had to bring to Jesus the loaves and the fish. And I think this is related to the Lord speaking to us and says honor me with your finances, test me in this and see if as a result I will not open up for you the windows of heaven and bless you. I think honoring God with our finances is so huge, not just because God blesses us when we trust him and honor him, but because it opens up our heart and brings us to a place of living a yielded life unto him. And so this is just truth. And I'm just asking God's people let's live in obedience. And if this message, beloved, that I'm sharing right now is bearing witness with your soul and you feel a leading of the spirit, would you make an offering to him through this ministry?
Dustin Roberts: To give today visit discoveringthejewishjesus.com or call 800-777-7835. That's 800-777-7835. You can also give by texting the keyword give to the phone number 88777. Your generosity it helps Rabbi Schneider continue teaching God's word and helps us share the gospel with people all around the entire world. Every gift truly makes a difference. And one of the most impactful ways that you can support this ministry is by becoming a monthly partner. When you sign up we want to thank you with a beautifully handcrafted shofar that's made in Israel. The shofar has sounded throughout the story of God's people for generations. In scripture it sound called people to attention and marked moments they were meant to remember. We hope this shofar becomes a meaningful reminder in your home of God's faithfulness and your own desire to live yielded to him. It can also give you an opportunity to share its biblical significance with your children, grandchildren, friends, and anyone who sees it and wants to know more. So to become a monthly partner today and get your very own shofar, visit discoveringthejewishjesus.com or call 800-777-7835. You can also send your gift in the mail to discoveringthejewishjesus PO Box 777 Blissfield, Michigan 49228. Now here's Rabbi to speak God's sacred blessing over our lives.
Rabbi K.A. Schneider: In the book of Numbers chapter six we find a personal blessing from God our father. This blessing should touch our hearts because it's so personal. Father God wants to intimately bless you. So receive his blessing into your life today with gladness and an open heart. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift you up with his countenance and the Lord give you, beloved one, his peace. And now in Hebrew God bless you and shalom.
Dustin Roberts: I'm your host Dustin Roberts and this program is produced and sponsored by Discovering the Jewish Jesus. If creation points to God, why does humanity reject him? Rabbi Schneider helps us consider our own response and see creation with fresh eyes tomorrow on Discovering the Jewish Jesus.