Doing the Impossible--Part 1

We began a new series this week entitled “Doing the Impossible.” I know that I want to do all God has for me to do in 2013. If it’s God’s work, it is impossible in my own strength. If I can do it alone, I don’t need God. But the things truly worth doing require God’s power to accomplish them.  We studied Romans 1:16-22.  We are not ashamed of the Gospel because it is power unto salvation for all who will believe. There is a lot to chew on in that verse. First of all, we should never be ashamed of Jesus Christ or the message of His love and redemption. That salvation is the conduit through which all of God’s blessing flows to His creation.    

Salvation is about changing our eternity, but it is also about changing our lives here on earth. Getting hold of the truth of all of salvation is paramount to us flowing in all the power God has made available to us. That word power in the Greek is dynamis.  The meaning of this word is “Power for performing miracles; strength; power; ability; inherent power, or power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature.”  Part of the definition of that Greek word indicates the power that is inherently part of someone or something’s nature, in this case God’s nature.  This power resides in God because He is who He is. 

The Greek word for salvation means “deliverance, preservation, safety and salvation.”  The Greek word for everyone means “each; every; any; all; the whole one; all things; everything.”  The gift of salvation is for everyone (and that means everyone), but it still has to be received.  We also looked at Romans 8:28-29 and following, and Ephesians 1:5.  How do we reconcile predestination with salvation being for all?  The Greek word really does mean predestined, so that doesn’t help.   There is a difference between predestined and foreknowledge in the Greek, so that’s not it either.  God sees from the beginning to the end.  Everyone alive at the time of Christ and forward were predestined to have salvation available to them, where as those before were not. 

Foundational to our faith is the idea that salvation is for all and not just a predestined few. A pre-destination viewpoint will always leave doubt as to whether you truly are loved and accepted by God. Maybe you are wasting your time trying to love and serve a God who pre-destined you to hell (both on earth and eternity).  If we believe only some are predestined to be saved, the enemy has a little wedge.  From this the enemy can convince us that maybe we are not one of those predestined to be saved and thus not loved by God.  But that is not true.   2 Peter 3:9 and 2 Timothy 2:1-3 echo this also.   I don’t claim to have been the one true wise man who could finally settle the argument, but I do feel confident in what God has shown me. And it sure removes the troublesome nature of those two verses for me.

I believe we must be confident in God’s nature, which is love for ALL. His salvation is a gift for all. Not all are saved, for there IS a qualifier in Romans 1:17 – all those who BELIEVE. The Greek word for believe is “to trust in Jesus or God as able to aid either in obtaining or doing something; saving faith.”  Faith is the connector between the power that is available and something happening.  You must have faith in the idea that Christ became sin for you and took on any wrath from God and made you righteousness – receive the gift. It is FOR all but not all choose to receive it.  The power not only changes our eternity but is meant to change our life here on earth.  When we settle in our hearts who God is, that His heart is always love toward ALL mankind, we will begin to be able to flow in the power of that salvation. That power is for our own redemption and to lead others to that same salvation for themselves.

Verse 17 talked about the power that comes by the gift of His righteousness (note that righteousness was originally translated right-wise-ness), which we will discuss next week. Verse 18-19 talk about the wrath of God being revealed to those who are wicked, because they suppress the truth. First, we must see that it is wrath that is being revealed and not poured out. It is a revealing of something that already existed. Isaiah 54 tells us that, because of Christ’s sacrifice, God is no longer punishing man.   The Greek word for wickedness is adikia which is a picture of the injustice of a judge. Understand that Paul had been a Pharisee or a judge of the law. So, in his context, this wickedness could be referring to those who know the truth of the gospel, but choose to continue to preach law and self-righteousness. 

For, in verses 19-22, a look around you at creation clearly reveals the power of God to do the impossible – redeem man or to provide a way to being right before Him. It should be clear that if God is powerful, then that power is available to us.  Romans 2:1 reminds us that we should not pass judgment on others (Matthew 7:1).  Romans 12:2 says we are supposed to not conform to the thinking of this world and be transformed by the renewing of our mind.  When we are born again, we have two routes we can take—apply the same grace we got to others or use it to judge others and become self-righteous.


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