Sermons by Michael Andrus (Page 17)
Romans 1:18-20
Are the Unreached Really Lost? Introduction: Suppose for a moment that you are the personnel director of the St. Louis Post Dispatch. You need to hire some more reporters, so you go over to Washington University and begin to interview students who are scheduled to graduate in May from the School of Journalism. One young man seems to be a particularly bright prospect. He has an excellent academic record and handles himself very well during the interview. You’re about to offer him a job when…
Romans 1:18-32
When God Gives Up Introduction: Today we have our second Bad News sermon in a row. The Bad News refers not, I trust, to the quality of the sermon, but rather to the subject matter. We’re in one of the darkest, most somber portions of the entire Bible here in Rom. 1:18-3:20, which I have chosen to preach under three main headings: Are the unreached really lost and on their way to Hell? (last Sunday & today) Are “good” people really lost? (next Lord’s Day)…
Romans 2:1-16
Are Good People Lost, Too? Introduction: We enter today into the second section of the bad news portion of the book of Romans. In the first section the Apostle Paul asked the question, “Are the unreached really lost and on their way to hell?” and answered it with a resounding, “Yes.” They are without excuse because they know God through nature and conscience, yet they consistently violate His commandments. As we open the second chapter today, he asks a related question, “Are good people…
Romans 2:17-3:8
Are Religious People Lost, Too? Introduction: In chapter one of Romans the Apostle Paul dealt with the unreached pagan and declared him to be lost, without excuse, and on his way to Hell. In the first part of chapter two he took up the case of the moralist, the humanist with high personal ethical standards who looks down his nose at the gross pagan, and declared him, too, to be lost, without excuse, and on his way to hell. That leaves his own…
Romans 3:9-20
Sinnerama, or I’m not OK, You’re not OK Introduction: Let’s begin this morning by reading our Scripture text, Romans 3:9-20: “What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. {10} As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; {11} there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. {12} All have turned away, they have together become…
Romans 3:21-31
Acquitted: The Legal Status of the Redeemed Sinner Introduction: This may be the most important sermon I will ever preach at First Evangelical Free Church, so I invite your closest possible attention. If you grasp the truths we are sharing today, it could change your whole perspective on the plan of salvation. For months now we have been bombarded by news of the sensational trial of O. J. Simpson in Superior Court in Los Angeles. The jury has been sequestered and tomorrow morning the…
Romans 4:1-12
Justification Illustrated: The Father of Faith, Part 1 Introduction: We begin this morning by reading together Romans 4:1-12: “What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? {2} If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about–but not before God. {3} What does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” {4} Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift,…
Romans 4:13-25
Justification Illustrated: The Father of Faith, Part 2 Introduction: For three weeks we have been giving our attention almost entirely to the doctrine of justification by faith. In the first three chapters of Romans the Apostle Paul goes to great lengths to establish, as a prosecutor might do in a court room, that the entire human race stands guilty before God because of SIN. Having built an absolutely watertight case, he stops to await the Judge’s verdict, which, astoundingly, comes down as “not guilty.” God…
Romans 5:6-11
God Loves You! Introduction: I have a very simple theme I would like to convey this morning: God loves you! I don’t care who you are or what your circumstances are in life. God loves you! It doesn’t matter what evil things you have done or what good you may have left undone. God loves you! In the six verses that constitute our primary text today the focus is upon God’s love for the believer. The Apostle’s purpose seems to be to shake some believers out of…
Romans 5:12-21
Ruin and Rescue Introduction: We come this morning to a very profound and difficult portion of Romans. That’s one of the reasons I enjoyed so much last week’s passage. The theme was so clear, the concept so simple—all we had to do was to drink in the truths that … God’s love is without cause. God’s love is without measure. God’s love is without end. Today we are faced with a very different kind of text. Its theme is difficult to understand and perhaps…
Romans 6:1-14
Call to Holy Living Introduction: You are not a Christian because you lead a Christian lifestyle; rather you lead a Christian lifestyle because you are a Christian. There are tens of millions of religious people in this country of ours and countless millions in other lands, who are staking their eternity upon the notion that they are Christians because they try to lead a relatively Christian lifestyle. But if that were possible, why do you suppose the Apostle Paul, the greatest Christian theologian…
Romans 6:1-14
Dead Men Don’t Sin Introduction: I cut the following news article out of the Kansas City Times on March 11, 1974. The dateline is Manila and the title of the article is, “Soldier Surrenders After 30 Years:” Japanese Lt. Hiroo Onoda, a World War II holdout for nearly 30 years, emerged from the Philippine jungles yesterday (this was 21 years ago yesterday). He told Japanese newsmen he had not come out before because “I had not received the order.” Onoda, who turned 52…