"I've Got Good News!" Pastor Albert Almore
We’re going to continue in our series this morning on the Book of Romans called, "GOOD NEWS!” It’s amazing to me that before we get to our key verses this morning, in the New Living Translation, Paul uses the phrase Good News 7 times! We can’t even get through the first 3 verses without hearing about this Good News! Romans 1:1 reads,
"This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach HIS GOOD NEWS.“
Romans 1:1 NLT
"God promised this GOOD NEWS long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures.“
Romans 1:2 NLT
"The GOOD NEWS is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line,“
Romans 1:3 NLT
Maybe you’re thinking to yourself, man, what is it about this, "Good News?” Here’s our main idea for this morning…
📝 You’ll never appreciate the gospel’s GOOD NEWS, until you understand mankind’s BAD NEWS.
In Romans 1:18-32, Paul shares the Bad News of mankind, the summary of mankind if you will. Romans 1:18-19 reads,
"THE WRATH OF GOD is being revealed from heaven AGAINST ALL THE GODLESSNESS AND WICKEDNESS OF PEOPLE, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.“
Romans 1:18-19 NIV
"For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—HAVE BEEN CLEARLY SEEN, BEING UNDERSTOOD FROM WHAT HAS BEEN MADE, SO THAT PEOPLE ARE WITHOUT EXCUSE.“
Romans 1:20 NIV
"For ALTHOUGH THEY KNEW GOD, THEY NEITHER GLORIFIED HIM AS GOD NOR GAVE THANKS TO HIM, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.“
Romans 1:21 NIV
"Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.”
Romans 1:22-23 NIV
"Therefore GOD GAVE THEM OVER in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. THEY EXCHANGED THE TRUTH ABOUT GOD FOR A LIE, and worshiped and served CREATED THINGS RATHER THAN THE CREATOR—who is forever praised. Amen.“
Romans 1:24-25 NIV
"Because of this, GOD GAVE THEM OVER to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones.“
Romans 1:26 NIV
"In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.“
Romans 1:27 NIV
"Furthermore, just as THEY DID NOT THINK IT WORTHWHILE TO RETAIN THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD, so GOD GAVE THEM OVER to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done.“
Romans 1:28 NIV
"THEY HAVE BECOME FILLED WITH EVERY KIND OF WICKEDNESS, EVIL, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30) slanderers, GOD-HATERS, insolent, arrogant and boastful; THEY INVENT WAYS OF DOING EVIL; they disobey their parents;“
Romans 1:29-30 NIV
"they have no understanding, no fidelity, NO LOVE, NO MERCY. 32) Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things BUT ALSO APPROVE OF THOSE WHO PRACTICE THEM.“
Romans 1:31-32 NIV
In spite of what we just read, I want to preach a message titled:
I’VE GOT GOOD NEWS!
3 times we read the phrase…
"GOD GAVE THEM OVER…”
What does this mean? It means that God turned them over to theirselves. God turned them over to their sins, to a reprobate mind.
A REPROBATE MIND is defined as the loss of logic and morality in a person's reasoning.
When one is so hardened as to feel NO REMORSE or misgiving of conscience for particularly vile acts.
I know this is hard to grasp, but God gave them over in hopes that sin, hurt, and pain, would teach them a lesson, and drive them back to His presence. It got so bad in one particular case, that Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 5:5,
HAND THIS MAN OVER TO SATAN or the destruction of the flesh, SO THAT HIS SPIRIT MAY BE SAVED…
1 Corinthians 5:5 NIV
Paul wasn’t praying for his body to be destroyed, but for the world to fail him so bad that his EVIL IMPULSE would be destroyed. When this would destroyed, the body might once more become a temple of the Holy Ghost, so that his spirit may be saved.
Here’s some Good News right here…
📝 God gave them over for a season, but God NEVER GAVE UP ON THEM.
Imagine a child attempting to ride a two wheel bike, and the more that parent tried to help them, that child would scold them, push them away, and yell at them to leave them alone.
So finally that parent turns them over to theirselves, to what they thought they desired and wanted so bad, so that they could feel for themselves the natural consequences of living outside of their care. That child would painfully crash on their side, but in return they would be ready to receive that parents love and help, who remained by their side, in spite of their actions.
Beloved, this is what Paul is trying to convey to the Romans. Mankind crashed hard without God’s guidance, without God’s help and blessing. But just like every good parent, every time mankind crashed, "ask the children of Israel,” He was right there willing, and desiring to pick them up, you know why, because..
📝 • Our God is a GOOD HEAVENLY FATHER.
""Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “NO ONE IS GOOD—EXCEPT GOD ALONE.“
Luke 18:19 NIV
”If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will YOUR FATHER WHO IS IN HEAVEN give GOOD THINGS to those who ask Him!“
Matthew 7:11 NKJV
God gave them over for a season, but their Heavenly Father NEVER GAVE UP ON THEM, because Our God is a GOOD HEAVENLY FATHER!
"For THE LORD IS GOOD; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.“
Psalms 100:5 NKJV
"Taste and see that THE LORD IS GOOD. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!“
Psalms 34:8 NLT
📝 Even though God gave them over for a moment, in the fullness of time, God would go on to GIVE HIS SON once and for all.
"For God so loved the world, that HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.“
John 3:16 KJV
Hebrews 10:5 lets us know that Jesus agreed with our GOOD HEAVENLY Father to do this …
"That is why, when Christ came into the world, he said to God, "You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings. But you have given me A BODY TO OFFER.“
Hebrews 10:5 NLT
Why did Jesus agree with our Good Heavenly Father…
📝 • Our Lord Jesus Christ is a GOOD SHEPHERD.
""I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.“
John 10:11 NKJV
📝 • Our good Heavenly Father, and our Good Shepherd, had a GOOD PLAN.
"And all the people who belong to this world worshiped the beast. They are the ones whose names were not written in the Book of Life that belongs to the Lamb who was slaughtered BEFORE THE WORLD WAS MADE.“
Revelation 13:8 NLT
"When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” He asked this only to test him, FOR HE ALREADY HAD IN MIND WHAT HE WAS GOING TO DO.“
John 6:5-6 NIV
If Jesus already had in mind what He was going to do to feed a crowd for dinner, THEN HOW MUCH MORE, DID HE ALREADY HAVE IN MIND WHAT HE WAS GOING TO DO ABOUT YOUR SALVATION, ABOUT YOUR ETERNITY, ABOUT YOUR RESERVATION IN HEAVEN?!
Beloved, this plan was established before the world was made. This plan was established before the foundation of the world was laid!
Satan thought he had us but God is just too good! Satan had a plan, but God had a greater plan. Satan had an evil plan, but God had a good plan. Satan thought he defeated God’s CREATED SON, then God sent HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON. Satan thought it was over with THE FIRST ADAM, then lo and behold, through a virgin, born in a manger, here comes THE SECOND ADAM.
I can’t make this stuff up. This was all THE GOOD FATHER. This was all THE GOOD SHEPHERD. This was all part of the GOOD PLAN. Because of all of this….
📝 I’ve got Good News—YOU DON’T HAVE TO STAY THERE!
If you’ve found yourself anywhere in Romans 1:18-32, or even close to it, I’VE GOT GOOD NEWS…YOU DON’T HAVE TO STAY THERE!
"Therefore IF ANY MAN BE IN CHRIST, HE IS A NEW CREATURE: OLD THINGS ARE PASSED AWAY; behold, ALL THINGS ARE BECOME NEW.”
2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV
all things are become new…EVEN YOUR SPIRITUAL ADDRESS—YOU DON’T HAVE TO STAY THERE! You don’t have to stay in Romans 1:18-32 because….
📝 God is never out of MOVES. God is never out of GRACE. God is never out of MERCY. It endures forever, just like His Good News!
📝 When it comes to salvation, it’s not about what I CAN DO FOR GOD, it’s about what GOD HAS DONE FOR ME.
I intentionally kept calling God our Good Heavenly Father, just in case you didn’t have a good experience with your biological father, or your step father, or any father figure in your life. Numbers 23:19 says…
"GOD IS NOT A MAN, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? HAS HE EVER PROMISED AND NOT CARRIED IT THROUGH?“
Numbers 23:19 NLT
HAVE YOU ACCEPTED THIS GOOD NEWS?