When you read doxology, of course, one of the responses that you must make sure is true in your soul is that you echo the words. If Paul says he's under inspiration, we must say likewise. We must have the same spirit, again, a determination to bring glory to God in our words. But when you, again, dig deep into the meat of this doxology, there are also principles that bring out some very wise counsel. And so there's application in this that goes beyond simply the application to say what Paul says, although that's important. We should say what Paul says. But there's so much truth principle undergirding these words, that again, when you begin to pull it apart, you see things that are tremendous help to the people of God at all times. We saw last time that there is counsel here regarding what God does to us and for us in our spiritual weakness. Again those opening words of verse 25, Now to him that is of power to establish you, emphasize for us our own spiritual weakness. particularly in the area of unbelief. Again, we saw in the context that Paul is addressing the Romans concerning the presence, either immediate or imminent, of those false teachers who were seeking to take the people away from the purity of the faith. Paul is confident of their obedience in verse number 19. It's well known that they are strong in the truth, but yet his concern is they continue to be wise in that which is good. Either, or rather, wise in strong doctrine, wise in clear doctrine, true doctrine, and simple. In other words, uninformed, innocent concerning those false teaching that was coming to place in the New Testament church. So he's conscious of their weakness. Paul understands that if anyone thinks he stands, take heed lest he falls, particularly as we saw in the realm of unbelief. Unbelief, beginning to doubt God's covenant, doubt the truthfulness of the gospel, the reliability of Christ Jesus to save our souls, and unbelief comes in and we're gonna doubt these things, doubting God's commandments as being good. questioning the commandments of God, but rather deciding we'll go in a different way. That was one of the issues in the false teacher. Some demanding more than God expected and others demanding less. The right path is God's path. I can't doubt that. We've got to be strong in faith, doubting God's care. We can be weak in faith and begin to doubt God's care for us in our lives, questioning what God is doing for our souls. We're weak. We need the power of God. What we can say with the apostle, when I am weak, then am I strong. Well, such dependence upon the Lord, according to this doxology, is not passive. We don't just lie in our beds or sit in our easy chairs and wait for God to strengthen us in our unbelief. We are to be active and active in the use of the means of grace. You see, the God who strengthens us is the God who strengthens us in the use of means. The preaching of the gospel of Christ Jesus, if I can combine those two phrases there in verse 25, according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ. Again, the word according to that preposition governs both of those clauses or phrases and thus they're combined in that sense. It's the gospel, Paul's teaching. which is communicated through preaching. And so our hearts are established by a God who is pleased to use means. Now last week, I simply pointed out in a general sense, the necessity of the preaching of the word as a means of grace as distinct from reading. Reading is very, very important, very, very helpful. But in preaching, there is the explanation of propositional truth that must be preached persuasively. There's something in preaching that really drives the word of God home or is intended to drive the word home to the unbelieving hearer. But as Paul continues in this doxology, he begins to say lots of things regarding the nature of this gospel. What is the preaching of Jesus Christ that stabilizes the saints who are struggling with unbelief? Is it just talking about Jesus? Does any sort of Jesus talk strengthen the believer? Is it any sort of preaching? You take either the two concepts, preaching, Jesus, well, what does it mean to preach Jesus? And what does it mean to preach? Is any kind of oration gonna strengthen the hearts of the hearers? You are well in a verse to know that's not the case. But we see that very much worked out by Paul in his own mind, as he's working through the textology. Remember, he's begun the sentence now to him. And sometimes the scholars, they criticize Paul's grammar. Don't forget, these are letters that are being dictated and written down by another party. And it's only Paul is beginning this thought now to him. And as he thinks about that, you can almost imagine him musing in his room and pausing, thinking about what he's going to say next. And then his mind begins to run, and he goes into a high point of his consideration of the gospel of Christ Jesus. He does this under inspiration of the Spirit of God. And so you have a lengthy sentence that follows. It's according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ. And then you get another, according, according to the revelation of the mystery. What's he doing here? He's going to explain this gospel of Jesus Christ. Revelation of the mystery, kept secret since the world began, now made manifest by the scriptures of the prophets according to the commandment of God. This is complex, isn't it? One thought leads into another. And as I was kind of wrestling through this again, I very quickly had kind of divided the text up. But then I realized I'm making a major mistake here. I can't just look at each of these clauses separately and discuss them. That would do disservice to the text. See, what you've got to establish in your own minds right now is what is it about these various terms that he uses that strengthen your faith. What is it about the right way to preach Christ that will benefit the heart of the hearer? And so what I think you have here, you have at least four, I'm gonna highlight four, four features of true gospel preaching that if the preaching is proper, will always strengthen the heart of a humble hearer. So let's note these four things and let's try not to forget the question, what is it about these features that strengthen the heart of those who sit under such preaching? Well, first of all, the gospel comes from the counsel of God. Or if you like, it originates in the mind of God. I'm using the word counsel there, the way Paul used it in Ephesians chapter one, all things after the counsel of God's will. I'm describing the eternal mind and heart of God's. The gospel comes, again, not if you like, in a moment in time. But it is an eternal gospel in the mind of an eternal God. Now we see that several things true again in the text. You have the word revelation, according to the revelation. You have the word mystery, the revelation of the mystery. And you have the term kept secret, but since the world began, So those things again, one by one, that they all point to the truth that the gospel originates with God. Paul calls it my gospel, not because he originates it, because it was given to him and he took possession of it. But it's God's gospel. I encourage you to go back to chapter one of Romans here. Romans chapter one. Again, if you write in the margin of your Bible or you cross-reference, the closing section of Romans 16 murders very, very closely the opening words. It really is remarkable. I get so frustrated with people who criticize Paul's writing when he's really brought his entire letter right back round to the start. It is brilliant. in the scholarly nature of his authorship. And so he begins, Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, which he promised afore by his prophecy in the holy scriptures concerning his son, Jesus Christ, or Lord. And you see the parallels here, a reference to the scriptures, but he calls it the gospel of God. The gospel that originates and begins with the Lord God. And so back to Romans 16, and let me just point out these three terms that are used. It is a gospel that is revealed. A gospel of revelation, not invention. A gospel of revelation, not imagination. There's one thing that's always true of false teacher. It's always true. It's universally true. Every false teacher has to imagine some new doctrine. Well, that's where it comes from. You pick your cult, you pick your sect, you pick your false religion, and the origin of the thinking is man and not God. The claim of the gospel is that it's revealed by God. And so you have that point made very, very clear in various parts of the scriptures, through visions and dreams, through the prophets of the Old Testament, then through Christ, and then the Spirit inspiring the apostles. The claim they make is that what they say comes from God. You unbeliever, you can sit there and say, that's just simply a claim. It's a claim that can be proven. proven through the resurrection of Christ, proven through the various miracles. Except it is a claim, we believe it by faith, but it's a claim that has evidence behind it and it can be proven. But even more fundamentally that, that claim is either true or false. But they claim that it's of God's revelation. The phrase, since the world began, again reminds us that this gospel predates creation. If it's there since the world began, it's just before that. So it pre-dates the beginning of this world. And who alone pre-dates this world? Only the eternal God. So if this gospel pre-dates the world's beginning, the gospel has to originate in God. Whereas Paul, again, is just away with his understanding of these things. The third thing that we see here is the word mystery. Now the first two are obvious. Revelation, not imagination. Since the world began, hence eternal. But now we have this word mystery that certainly requires some explanation to a modern English reader. Our thoughts of mystery are very different than what Paul means here at this point. Although there are some overlaps. Again, let me keep in mind That a mystery is something that has to be known. So yes, in a sense, a modern mystery is the uncovering of something that is not known. But you've got to be much more precise when you think about the gospel of Christ Jesus. The Lord himself refers to the kingdom as a mystery in Matthew 13. He says, disciples, because it's given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. So what's he mean by all of this? Well, turn across in your Bible, it's a couple of pages, at least in my Bible, to 1 Corinthians 2. It's close at hand in our Bibles. It's the words of the apostle Paul. And it's very, very helpful in terms of defining what Paul means by the term mystery. Verse number seven, but we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery. Again, of course, he's defending himself. He's preaching Jesus Christ and crucified, not the wisdom of man, but again, what the wisdom that comes from God. Again, verse number five, that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery. Let's continue. Even the hidden wisdom, you'll see the word wisdom supplied there, which God ordained before the world unto our glory. Again, this wisdom, this mystery, predates the beginning of the world. You've got to read that all in its context. Paul goes to Corinth preaching Christ and Him crucified. that he defines as being the revelation of the wisdom of God. The wisdom of God that is a mystery that comes before the world began. But the wisdom of God that he says in verse number 10 has been revealed to them by his spirit. And so that helps us to really get to the core of a definition of this word mystery. Something that is unknown to natural man, but must be revealed by the God of heaven. That's the essence here of this word mystery. Unknown to ourselves, but then made known to us by the Lord. So keeping that kind of definition in mind, turn across now to Ephesians chapter one. In Ephesians chapter 1, again you'll see in Ephesians there are several times that Paul uses the term mystery. And in those occasions, again you'll see a consistency of the idea of making a mystery known. An unveiling of the mystery. So you've got chapter 1 verse number 9. the mystery of his will, according to the good pleasure which is purposed in himself. Or chapter three and the verse number three, how that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery. You see the same point? This is connection. This word, mystery, is something that Paul says was made known to him by the Lord. Chapter 3, verse 4, The gospel, Christ, is termed a mystery, which is made known to the Apostle Paul by the Lord himself. Chapter three, verse number nine, as he prays for the saints, and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world have been hidden, God, who created all things by Jesus Christ, to the intent that now under the principalities and powers and heavenly places might be known by the church, the manifold wisdom of God. Wisdom now made known. Last one, chapter six in the verse number 19, And for me, that utterance may be given unto me that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel. Paul, he's taken this very personally. He says to the Romans, this is my gospel. How is it your gospel, Paul? It's God's gospel. Yeah, but it's my gospel because God revealed this mystery to me, and it is my task as a steward of God's goodness to make that known to others. I'm going to make the gospel known. The mystery is something that is made manifest. You'll see that also in Colossians chapter 1. What I'm trying to show you here is there's a tremendous consistency in Paul's usage of this term. Colossians chapter one, the verse number 26. Well, let's read 25. Just one last reference for now. 1 Timothy chapter three. Because here, Paul begins to give a fuller definition of what's included in this mystery. Up to now, it's the mystery of Christ. It's the mystery of God's goodness. I have not heard, or I have not seen, nor ear heard what God prepared for those that love Him. It's the goodness of God in Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 3, verse 16, and without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. Justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed unto the world, received up into glory. What is this mystery? It is the fullness of the gospel of Christ Jesus. It is preaching Christ in his fullness. It is preaching Christ as he who is revealed of God to lost sinners in the power of the spirit of God. So you go back to Romans 16. Paul is telling us here that the gospel establishes the saints as Christ is preached. And Christ is preached not as a name or as a concept, but as one who is revealed by God, the person and work of Christ revealed. All of this originating with the Lord. So my heading for this point is that you are strengthened as you sit under preaching that emphasizes the gospel is God's gospel, not man's. That should be a dominant theme of any gospel preacher. There is always a temptation. for the preacher to draw attention to themselves and their own cleverness or their own ideas or the new application of the word of God. All of that is very, very tempting, but it's vital for you, dear child of God, that your preacher makes it known, this is God's word, not my word. That must always be the case because then when false teachers come along, you will say, well, that sounds like new truth, not old truth. When you compare the new to Paul's preaching, you see the difference. And thus you're not tempted into unbelief regarding the covenant and regarding the truthfulness of the gospel. It's God's gospel. And as God's gospel, you need not fall into by path meadow of unbelief. You need not fall back into doubts and suspicions around the gospel. It comes from God, not from man. Therefore it's true. Therefore it's good. Therefore it's wise. Therefore it is a revelation of love and grace and goodness. All of these things are reinforced in your mind. This is coming from a good, kind, wise, just, and true God. You can rely upon this, depend upon this, and rejoice in this. Where else would you go? You wanna go somewhere else? Some other religion? Wherever else you're going to go, you're going to go away from God's word and away from God's truth. You must be grounded upon the word of God. The gospel originates, comes from the counsel of God. Secondly, the gospel is, if you like, secure, or it has the confirmation of God. Again, let's just take some time to look at Paul's language here in Romans 16. It's according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, let me skip this, made known to all nations. I'm just trying to get a sense of this. Made manifest by the Scriptures of the prophets, made known to all nations. That's the sense of the structure there, okay? How can this all fit together? If the gospel is in the scripture of the prophets, in what sense is it secret? And in what sense is it now made manifest when the scriptures have been in existence for centuries? I'm not sure you maybe get the trouble right now, but let's just think this through. Clearly Paul is describing the Old Testament scriptures here. Now it is made manifest and by the scriptures of the prophets. Again there are some who say this is a reference to the New Testament. That's never how Paul uses this phrase in Romans. It's always the Old Testament scriptures. You go back to chapter 1. We saw that chapter 1 verse 1. I'm not going to take time on this, but chapter 1 verse 1, which he promised to forward by his prophets in the Holy Scriptures. Again, when you see the parallels, it really makes no sense to change the meaning in the end of chapter 16 from chapter 1 without explaining that carefully. So in chapter one, he's referring to the promises made by the prophets in the holy scriptures. Even in chapter three, verse number 21, again, he refers to the scriptures of the Old Testament. So the language, when he gets to chapter 16, is very much Old Testament scriptures, Genesis to Malachi. So therefore, The gospel was not entirely secret since the world began. That's not what Paul means. There are a couple of possible ways. The word secret is being here used in a relative sense. Compared to the brilliance of manifestation, it is in that relative sense secret since the world began. Such is the contrast between before Christ and after Christ. But even beyond that, there are two possible ideas of this word secret. One, it's revealed in types and shadows. Symbols and promises. Not in the person of Christ, but in all of those things that point to Christ. And so in that sense, there's a distinction between secret and made manifest. It's also the case that if you see the reference, made known to all nations, there was a sense in which it was secret to the nations, but now it's made manifest. So if that's the way, in what sense, therefore, are the Old Testament scriptures useful here? How is the gospel made manifest by the scriptures of the prophets? Well, the problem you have here is the Old Testament Scriptures have been in existence for centuries. In what sense is their use different now? Well, the answer seems to be quite clear. And that is that the saving events of Christ, following Christ coming into the world, living, dying, and rising again, God has now given the apostles A clear, if I can use this term right, a Christological understanding of the Old Testament. And when you analyze the book of Acts, much of apostolic preaching is bringing Old Testament scriptures, comparing them with Jesus, and saying, do you get it? The prophecies and the person fit together in perfect harmony without any contradiction or conflict. Hence the purpose of the preaching of the apostles was to prove that Jesus is the Christ. I want to argue strongly that is still the task of the New Testament church today, preaching the word of God to the nations. And we've lost this. Again, there are many, and the dominant focus of the ministry is simply preaching New Testament portions of scripture. Even evangelistically. A major, a major, if not the major tool in evangelism is proving the Old Testament scriptures to be filled in Christ Jesus. Hundreds of years earlier. They're gonna pierce his hands and his feet, Psalm 22. It comes to pass in the person of Jesus, that we would see these things as the Lord quotes Psalm 22. We studied that in our studies in the Psalms. You see all the fulfillments of Psalm 22, and you're meant to see no one else fulfills all this. This man, Jesus, is something different. And of course, we then bring the gospel. Oh, he is altogether different. He is the eternal son of the eternal God sent into this world to bleed and to die for sinners that you and I might go free and be forgiven and reconciled to God. He's the God-man, the Messiah and the mediator and he fulfills all the Old Testament scriptures. What's Paul saying here? You'll be stabilized in your faith when you understand the old is fulfilled in Christ Jesus. That will strengthen your faith. And so when doubt comes, what should you do? Read Psalm 22. Read Isaiah 53. Go back to the Old Testament Scriptures, Psalm 110. You pick your Old Testament portion. The types and the shadows of the tabernacle. Perhaps you're reading Leviticus right now in your Bible reading plan, or you're about to. Treasure those words! They're difficult, they're obscure at times, but they show you Christ Jesus. The one who will save sinners is a sacrifice who will die by the shedding of blood. That's Leviticus for you. You want atonement? Blood must be shed. Christ says, I am the atonement, I am propitiation. His blood was shed. You see the point right now? This is what gospel preaching must look like. Tying the old and new together that you be confirmed in your faith, strengthened in your faith, and not blown away by every wind of darkness. And the gospel is true. I ask again, where else would you go? There is no other message that has this certainty. And the proof and the confirmation of God He said it, it came to pass. Jesus the Christ, the son of God. Believe in him and have life in his name. Thirdly, and again more quickly, the gospel spreads by the commission of God. Look what he says here. So understanding the idea of it being kept secret, now made manifest, verse 26, made manifest and made known to all nations. What was the bit we missed out there? According to the commandment of the everlasting God. The truth of Christ Jesus is truth to be shared, treasured, valued, but shared and distributed without prejudice and with bold gospel adventure. Again, this text has much to say regarding evangelism, regarding missions and global missions, but let's just keep it here right now. See all nations? That's us right now. We're part of that all nations. Here in the USA in the year 2025, we are part of this all nations. And therefore, as we gather together, what is the duty of the church, the Malvern Church in 2025? It is to preach the gospel evangelistically. Evangelically. That was and has been, and I trust by God's grace will always be part and parcel of what it is to be a free Presbyterian. Certainly what attracted me to the free church In terms of final decision to join the church in the early 2000s, I was really very, very conscious of a church that was preaching reform doctrine, but doing so with a burden to see souls converted. I can preach truth, but not necessarily do so evangelistically. I can make facts known, but Paul goes to Rome with a determination, again Romans 1 11, to give a spiritual gift to the believers. But he's going to do that as he goes to Rome and preaches the gospel to those under the wrath of God, a gospel that is the power of God unto salvation. He's going to Rome with evangelistic fervor, wanting to see souls converted, one to Christ Jesus. Again, it was traditional, again, in the UK for many, many years that every church had at least one evangelistic service. That there was a service that was particularly focused on preaching the gospel to sinners. I try, by God's grace, to apply the gospel to sinners in every single meeting. It's not just one for saints and one for sinners. All meetings are for saints and sinners together. That's my plan and purpose. But there's an evangelistic thrust in the preaching that is vital. You say, well, why is it so important? I'm a Christian. What benefit do I get sitting under evangelistic preaching? You get the benefit of, I trust by God's grace, seeing the heart of God towards sinners. It is God himself who commanded the evangelistic preaching of the gospel. And if you sit under fervent gospel preaching, you should, by God's grace, be convinced of one simple truth. God wants to reconcile sinners to himself. And it's really good for you to know that. When you're struggling with your doubts and unbelief, it's so important to understand that the God of heaven has invited me to come to Christ Jesus that I could be saved of my sins and reconciled to himself. The God of heaven sent his son and sent the spirit to draw sinners to himself. This is the God of the Bible. It reassures us regarding the security and advance of the kingdom. If we're doubting, what's the point of coming to church? What's the point of all of this? I'm saved, just take me home right now. But under evangelistic preaching, you're reminded again of God's burden to extend the boundaries of the kingdom, to go beyond the company here in this place, but to see other sinners brought under the word of God and gloriously saved, that is the plan and purpose of God. So in all your doubts and discouragements and unbelief that comes upon you, remember that God has commissioned the preaching of the gospel. Which leads directly to the last thing, and these are very closely connected. The gospel is preached with a compulsion that comes from God. Made known to all nations, that's the Great Commission. But what's the purpose for the obedience of faith? The gospel is preached in a way that must demand a response. You should not leave here thinking, well, I can take this or leave it. It might be a good idea, but it's not the most important thing in the world. I trust that by God's grace you leave here Lord's day by Lord's day convinced that I must take Christ. That I must believe that faith is a matter of obedience to the command of God. Again, it's a recognition of man's need. Again, if all are saved, then there is no need for this gospel command, but all are not saved. And therefore, those who sit under the word are commanded to believe the gospel, because if you do not believe the gospel, you're lost, heading to a hell-bound eternity. The gospel is the only answer to the need of man. Again, sitting under such preaching will strengthen your own heart. You might be doubting. What about all my Hindu friends and neighbors? What about my really kind, liberal, Protestant neighbors who don't love the Lord but love being kind and nice? What about all them? Maybe I do take this too seriously. And doubt sleeps in. It comes in subtly and it begins to seep into your soul. And then you come to the Lord's house and you're reminded again by the compulsion of faith. I must believe in Christ Jesus or else I'm lost. It strengthens your soul in a spirit of the age marked by unbelief and a pluralistic mindset that we're all going the same way. You need to come to the house of God Lord's day by Lord's day and be reminded Jesus is the only savior. and be outside of him is to be lost, but to have Christ is to have all. That strengthens your heart. It should strengthen your heart that you don't be again duped by a pluralistic mindset present in this present evil age. I must have Christ. I must obey the gospel. This is not a time to give up. I must have faith and I must keep the faith by the grace and the power of God. This, I believe, is what Paul is telling us here in this doxology. As he's reflected upon the gospel that strengthens and stabilizes the people of God, he reflects upon that and he begins to say, well, it's not just any old gospel. It's not just any old preaching of a man called Jesus. It's this gospel. It's God's gospel. Praise God today it's true. God preserve our souls. And if you today are outside of Christ, I close today with an appeal to your soul. Come to Jesus, have your sins forgiven, know peace with God, and the sure inheritance of an eternal home. Let's bow together in prayer. Eternal God and Father, I think again of the words of the Savior, my sheep, hear my voice and follow me. Oh Lord, may your word be heard today by your sheep. God, you would draw souls into the fold and keep the sheep safe and secure. Oh Lord, bless the people of God with your word. Encourage our hearts around the tables now. May our, again, fellowship be sweet together. We pray to your Father that you'd nourish our bodies, but particularly our souls, comfort and strengthen us in these days. Help us to honor you in all of our ways. We pray again in Jesus' name and for his sake. Amen.