Our text for today is Romans chapter 1, verse 16 through 17. Again, that's Romans chapter 1,

verse 16 through 17. I'll read the text in this entirety when I finish. I'm going to say,

this is the word of the Lord, at which point I would appreciate very much if you would respond by saying

thanks be to God. One final time, our text for this morning is Romans chapter 1, verse 16 through 17. The Bible says this,

for I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes,

to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For it is in it is the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. As it is written, the righteous

shall live by faith. This is the word of the Lord. All right, please be seated. By way of

introduction, I've written these following words. In order to proclaim the gospel without shame,

as the Apostle Paul most certainly did, we must first

believe the gospel. And in order to truly believe the gospel, we must first rightly understand the

gospel. So in our text today, the Apostle Paul provides his readers with no less than four

characteristics of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Number one,

the gospel is mankind's greatest need. Number two, the gospel is the power of God for salvation.

Number three, the gospel reveals the righteousness of God. And number four, the gospel is to be received by faith. Now again, as I've

said in this brief introduction, in order for us to truly preach the gospel without shame,

I am not ashamed of the gospel. If we are to preach the gospel, share the gospel, proclaim the

gospel to others, we must believe it. And if we the gospel to others, we must believe it.

And if we are to believe it, we must understand it.

It is a heretical, gnostic notion to think that understanding and belief are somehow

divorced from one another.

And that's what much of our modern evangelical culture has insisted.

They'll say, yeah, sure, to preach the gospel shamelessly, unapologetically, certainly you must

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