This is the first part of the sermon I preached on Sunday at our Cathedral…
Romans 16:25-27
Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith—to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.
God’s Big Reveal
What comes to your mind if I say, “Move that bus!” Do you picture a crowd of people gathered across the street with a large bus blocking their view of a house that has been rebuilt for a family in need? It’s the big reveal moment on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition – the show where a struggling family gets their house rebuilt and furnished with enough stuff to shift them from poverty to extreme materialism. The big reveal was typically an emotional moment with cheers & tears, hugs & screams of delight. Even the presenter would get all choked up! I was not a fan of the show but I saw a few episodes. It always seemed like they went to great pains to convince the audience about how much this particular family deserved the makeover. I always wondered what the show would have been like if the makeover was done for a family that did not deserve it.
Christmas day as a child was always magical for me. It was hard to sleep the night before. We went to church and then watched whatever Christmas specials were on TV that night and finally crawled into bed only to lie awake for a long time. In the morning we woke early and had to sit anxiously waiting at the top of the stairs for our dad to get everything all set. We were not allowed to go downstairs and see the tree and all it’s gifts until it was time. Dad wandered down, taking his sweet old time getting a camera set up to take pictures of us as we gasped. He made the wait extra long on purpose. He loved the anticipation we were experiencing as we squirmed in our pajama’s eager to get downstairs. Finally he says it’s time. Meanwhile we had negotiated who would get to be the first one down. I think my big sister usually won that one. We headed down the stairs and when we got to the bottom, as we gasped at the sight of our presents under the tree, the flashes of the camera went off – capturing the moment.
Christmas is about the big reveal. We anticipate anxiously as children… we create those moments as adults… We want the joy of Christmas to be experienced in every generation. Christmas is God’s big reveal. We find this in our reading from Romans 16. These final verses of Paul’s incredible epistle to the church in Rome are his doxology, a closing statement of praise to God. The very thing he points to as the glory of God is what we celebrate at Christmas. So, let’s look a bit at the passage.
This most theologically in depth and extensive epistle of Paul ends where it started. The same big ideas are found in the final 3 verses as are communicated in the opening five. What are these big ideas? The gospel of Jesus Christ, as pointed to by the scriptures and preached by Paul, which leads to transformed lives when obediently responded to, is what brings glory to God. The gospel is God’s big reveal and is what glorifies God.
Paul begins…
Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ,
Paul identifies himself with the gospel here because he is trying to communicate to the church in Rome that the gospel he is preaching to gentiles is the same Gospel that was preached by Jesus. The good news is the good news! God is able to strengthen us through that good news. How does this happen? In chapter 1 verse 16 Paul states that he is not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for salvation. The gospel changes lives. It changes our status with God. When we respond to the good news, we come into a relationship with God that transforms us. We are continually strengthened by the gospel as believers. We never outgrow this message! We need to be constantly reminded of what God did for us in Jesus. We do not save ourselves. We don’t deserve the grace of God. It’s not grace if we deserve it. Christmas is about the gospel that continually strengthens us.
Paul continues…
… according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations,
What is the mystery that has long been kept secret? Paul mentions this mystery in several of his letters. He speaks of it to the Corinthians, the Colossians, and Ephesians. The mystery was God’s master plan and the shocking part of God’s plan is that God’s design was to include more than just Israel. God’s plan has been unfolding throughout time. The OT points to a redemptive plan by God that is complete and final. We see a whole history in the OT of God redeeming his people but nothing is final. Everything is but a shadow of that which will come. So, we see things like Abraham nearly sacrificing his son – which foreshadows God actually sacrificing his son to redeem mankind. We see David becoming king and so many things about David’s kingship points to a greater king, an eternal king that would be fulfilled in Jesus. Those who lived before Jesus’ arrival and understood the OT, knew that something was coming that had been pointed to for generations. God had a plan that was fulfilled in Jesus. The mystery is no longer mysterious. The secret is out. The big reveal is Jesus!
Not only did God reveal his plan of redemption in the person of Christ, he has communicated to the nations that they might look to Jesus for salvation. Then God anointed the apostles to proclaim the gospel of Jesus, the message that Paul is so passionate to communicate as far and wide as possible. If it’s good news, which it is, then we don’t hide that or keep it to ourselves. Everyone needs good news!
Leave a Reply