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Romans 1:16: Trees and Hurricanes

Romans 1:16. This is a very important scripture. It states, in part:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes…

Trees to think about...

I remember one Canada Day in Victoria when one of my daughters was just 2 years old. We went to the celebrations at Fort Rodd Hill. They had a lot of things to see and do. We could see people dressed in historic costumes. There were mascots dressed like animals walking around: great for kids, right? There was even one person who was dressed as a tree giving balloons to children and telling them about the environment. This tree came up to us to say ‘hi’ and as he leaned over my daughter offering a balloon, he asked her, “Do you like trees?” to which she replied as sweet as can be, “not trees that talk and walk.”

Young children are great for innocently speaking their minds. They are not ashamed to say what they mean. This is actually some of what Paul is speaking about in Romans 1:16: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes…”

This is Gospel...

There is one thing we must know before we can share that gospel, however, and that is the meaning of the word gospel. Gospel is a rendering of the Greek word euangelion, which means ‘good news’ or ‘good message’. In its most basic form, gospel means good news. And what is this good news? This good news is that we can be saved from eternal death and damnation. We can actually be bodily raised from the dead to eternal life and even more. By the power of God we can start to experience a new life this very day! This is good news and we should definitely not be ashamed of this good news! But sometimes, sadly, some of us are.

What are some of other things that people are commonly ashamed of? I know many people are not forthcoming about their weight either because they have too much of it or, less prevalent in our culture, not nearly enough. I know that I was caught off guard once when a reporter asked for my wife’s and my ages – I gave him mine. As far as Susan’s age was concerned, I told him he’d have to ask her himself.

Again, this is gospel: Jesus died and rose again so that we can be free from sin; we can be free from death. There are some people who don’t realize this yet, who aren’t experiencing the power of the gospel of salvation. This is the reality: when Christ returns it will be like a thief in the night (Matthew 24:42-44). The time and the hour is unknown (Matthew 25:1-13) but we know it is coming and He is coming to judge the living and the dead (Acts 10:42, 2 Timothy 4:1, 1 Peter 4:5); some will go off to eternal happiness and some to hear weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8:12, 13:42, 13:50, 22:13, 24:51, 25:30; Luke 13:28).  To know this is good news, believe it or not.

When hurricanes strike.

It is like when hurricanes strike.There is usually enough warning these days so that no one needs to perish. Can you imagine this situation then:  the news reporters are so ashamed of the fact that a hurricane as coming that they don’t share the information? Can you imagine if the meteorologists were so ashamed of the fact that they did not know the exact time and hour the hurricane was going to strike that they didn’t tell anybody? Can you imagine if your neighbour knew the hurricane was coming and she evacuated but she never told you because she was ashamed that she couldn’t explain exactly why, where, how, and when the hurricane was coming? Can you imagine the horror as you look up to see your life being swept away – and no one ever told you how to be saved because they were ashamed?

An eschatological hurricane is coming and it is a lot more dangerous than any normal storm. There are people in this world today who are sleeping in their beds, working, or watching their TVs right now who have no idea that the end is coming. There are people out there who are just waiting for us to point them to salvation; so today let us do that.

Today let us be the announcers and rescue workers pointing people to safety. None of us know when our lives are going to end. We may be taken tomorrow. None of us know when the Lord is returning. But, like the weathermen and women watching the storm, we do know that the things of this world are going to pass away (Matthew 24:35, Mark 13:31, Luke 21:33, Revelation 21:1) and it is our job to share with everyone the good news of the way to Salvation so that they do not need to perish. It is our responsibility to share the gospel, for the gospel is the power of God for all to be saved both now and forever. To this end then, I encourage us to look for opportunities to share this good news so that we may all turn to God and experience the full power of His Salvation. 

Based on the sermon presented to Swift Current Corps, 05 July 2006. 
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