Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.probap.church/sermons/84616/romans-1013-15/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] Please go ahead and grab your seats. You know, I often get up here Sunday morning and I say something awkward.! That is typically me trying to be less nervous than I already am as I come to such a large task of preaching God's Word.

[0:20] And just so you know, I very rarely prepare what I'm about to say when I stand up here. So I used to say something off the cuff and I ended up being more nervous as a result of that. But so this morning, I'm just going to tell you a little short joke about last week.

[0:36] I was speaking to John Overton after the fact. And I don't remember exactly what we were talking about, something about the sermon. And I mentioned how really hot it was last week.

[0:48] I was like, how really hot last week? And John said, yeah, because you were wearing a sweatshirt. I said, a sweatshirt? I wasn't wearing a sweatshirt. He goes, dude, you were wearing a sweatshirt. I was wearing last week this navy blue.

[0:59] It's a really nice sweater, actually. Like a really finely knit sweater. And he was like, yeah, yeah, you really look like you were wearing a sweatshirt. And so today, really kind of as a joke, although I'm regretting it because I'm hot again, I wore a sweater that's really obviously a sweater.

[1:14] And John's not here. He's out of town. Anyway. So there you have it. It's a non-awkward icebreaker there. But please open your Bible to Romans chapter 10.

[1:26] We find ourselves now coming to, we talked in brief last week about verse 13 of chapter 10. And this week we're going to look together at 13, 14, and 15 of chapter 10.

[1:39] And we have seen Paul stating this case of justification by faith alone. He's been building that case. In all nine chapters coming to this point, he's continually been deriving that point to his audience, the believers in Rome.

[1:57] And I hope that we're catching it as well. We just got finished preaching through Romans chapter 9, which is a great chapter on God's sovereign election.

[2:09] And we see that there's the example given of Jacob and Esau, and that he chose to bring the promise through Jacob and not Esau, because Jacob was the second born.

[2:21] And you see in verse 11 of chapter 9, it says, in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works, but because of Him who calls.

[2:33] And then he addresses a couple of objections to that. Well, wait a minute, if God is sovereign, what about? And what if? And what Paul says to us is, be humble, you created thing.

[2:48] Because God is the Creator, and He has spoken. God has said, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. I am God, and you're not.

[3:02] We can't completely understand the complexities of God's sovereignty over all things. If you try, I promise, your head will split in two.

[3:13] There's no way you can quite grasp it. It is not for you to know. What we ought to know is what the Bible clearly teaches to us, is that God is in fact sovereign over all things, and yet, man is held accountable.

[3:29] And Paul goes back to that in chapter 10 to talk about Israel's unbelief at the end of 9 and into 10, that they've rejected the Gospel. They have fallen over, stumbled over the stumbling stone, which is Christ, and therefore have been crushed.

[3:45] And that for those who will believe, both Jew or Gentile, there's no distinction between the two. For those who will believe, salvation is at hand.

[4:01] In verse 13, we see the summary of that, and then some movement into some new thoughts. So let's begin reading together in verse 13, and we'll read through 15. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

[4:17] How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

[4:28] And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news. Join me in a quick word of prayer. Father God, I pray this morning by Your Spirit, You will bless the preaching of Your Word, that we will understand it with our hearts and not just our minds, that You will move us to action, that we will be not just hearers of the Word, but doers as well.

[4:58] I pray that this day we will be further amazed by Your magnificence in Jesus Christ, that we will want in a greater degree to talk about Him.

[5:11] We will want to share and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. I pray if anyone here does not know, cannot call on the name of the Lord because they have not yet believed, because they have not heard, because they haven't been preached to, that that changes this day.

[5:29] And I pray all of this in Christ's name. Amen. So three fairly simple verses, right? He runs us through kind of a logical explanation, but He does it in reverse.

[5:44] So, if you'll track with me, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, right? That's the end result. The calling on the Lord equals salvation, equals freedom from the bondage of sin, equals justification, right standing before God, equals adoption.

[6:02] We become children of God. Okay? There's the end, but what has to happen for that to take place? Right? There has to be a sending, in verse 15, and a proclamation of the good news, so that that good news can be heard, and believed, so that the person can call.

[6:26] Right? You see the order there that He's going through. So, how will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

[6:38] And then in verse 15, He quotes Isaiah 52, 6 and 7, how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news. And so, we must be sent.

[6:51] God must send the proclamation of His word into the world. But there's a danger in talking about the mission of the church. There's a danger in it because it's easy to guilt you into sharing the good news.

[7:08] It's easy to put you into a debtor's ethic mode to say, look what God has done for you. Now, what are you going to do for God? And the danger in it is that you become self-righteous.

[7:21] That you begin to believe that God needs you. He does not. God is God. He will accomplish His eternal purpose with or without you.

[7:36] Let's look at that. And then we'll talk about the proper motivation for getting on board. Isaiah 52.10 says, The Lord has bared His holy arm.

[7:47] Which I love the imagery of that. It's like God rolled up His sleeve. God has, the Lord has bared His holy arm before the eyes of all the nations and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

[8:00] It doesn't say if Christ's family church gets on board. Right? The Lord has bared His holy arm and it will then come to pass. And I apologize I got you flipping that direction.

[8:13] Turn with me to Revelation chapter 5. I should have interjected the do not turn clause. We're going to read together the first ten verses of chapter 5 primarily because they're too precious not to read together.

[8:34] So super cool. And then I'll draw out a reality for you. It's the vision of John in heaven. He writes, Then I saw in the right hand of Him who was seated on the throne a skull written within and on the back sealed with seven seals.

[8:53] And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud vice who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals. And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it.

[9:06] And I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or look into it. And one of the elders said to me weep no more behold the lion of the tribe of Judah the root of David has conquered so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.

[9:24] And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a lamb standing as though it had been slain with seven horns and with seven eyes which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

[9:36] And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. And when he had taken the scroll the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the lamb each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense which are the prayers of the saints.

[9:49] And they sang a new song saying worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals for you were slain and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.

[10:00] And you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God and they shall reign on the earth. Awesome picture of heaven. And we cannot possibly get into all the symbolism contained wherein today.

[10:16] It's not the point ultimately of today. But what you need to see is that there's a scroll and it's in the right hand of God Almighty. The right hand signifying his strength and his power.

[10:31] And the only one able to open the scroll is Jesus Christ the one who was slain. We don't play a part in that at all. God had written before time the names contained within Jesus Christ purchased for them their redemption and they are the players in this great scene in Revelation chapter 5.

[10:55] He does not need you. Don't think you're so grand that he needs you. So why then?

[11:06] Why does God choose to bring the good news to people every tribe every nation every tongue using the church?

[11:17] Why then are we commanded to go? The commands are there we'll look at them in a minute. Why are we sent to proclaim? It's because he loves us.

[11:32] Missions is a grace to the church. It's a gift given to us that we might join him in the work that he's already doing.

[11:45] So what is the motivation for sharing the gospel? For being on mission in your community and to the ends of the earth? For your eternal joy that you might see God and experience him in your living.

[12:00] He doesn't need you. Don't share. Be miserable. He'll get it done without you. But if you want to experience God if you love him and you want to see more of him you will proclaim the gospel.

[12:21] He quotes in the sending we're going to kind of work backwards here. He quotes in the sending Isaiah 52 6 and 7 as well as Nahum 1 15.

[12:32] How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news. Turn to Isaiah 52 6. We're going to expand this a little bit and understanding of why is it that Paul quotes here Isaiah 52 6 and 7.

[12:54] Isaiah 52 6. It reads My people shall know my name Therefore in that day they shall know that it is I who speak Here I am Isn't that awesome?

[13:10] I'm going to read it again because it's so good. My people shall know my name Therefore in that day they shall know that it is I who speak Here I am How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news who publishes peace who brings good news of happiness who publishes salvation who says to Zion your God reigns Right?

[13:36] And the picture going on here what these believers would have understood is that in these days when a king conquered when he went to battle and conquered they fought in valleys flat places where the armies would collide and when the king had conquered he would send a runner along the ridge to proclaim victory over it it was like the pronunciation we won and he would send somebody running right?

[14:04] It was his right it was his privilege to run himself but very few kings actually did this but would send somebody to go so what is Paul helping us see that as the sent ones of God we're the proclaimers of the good news that Jesus has won the victory the battle has been finished conquered finished and he has sent us running down the ridges to proclaim that victory isn't that awesome?

[14:35] that's so good so very good it's good to know your history behind some of these things I learned it a couple of days before you just did so so good and so when he says that we're sent to preach and I think a lot of you probably at this point would say well I'm not a preacher I'm in no way eloquent with words I would have such a hard time preparing five minutes of something to say much less half an hour right not talking about this certainly includes this is this proclamation of the gospel it better be or else it's horrible horrible preaching right but it's talking about just proclaiming just sharing right the gospel is good news of words our collective language it's how the gospel is delivered to people's hearts through the proclamation so who does it include everybody there is certainly a special gifting to teach to be a preacher takes a gifting to be able to get up and do this kind of thing people have that in varying measures mine down here others up here there's a gifting there that's specific for individuals but the calling the sending is universal to

[15:57] Christians right we are to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ in our lives specifically let's look at some men don't turn here okay Jeremiah 29 Jeremiah has gone through a difficult time he's been rejected largely by Israel he's kind of hating his life at this point in chapter 20 but he says if I say I will not mention him or speak any more in his name there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones and I am weary with holding it in and I cannot Jeremiah says if I deny this call of my life I'll burn up alive I cannot hold in this truth of the gospel Paul says in 1st Corinthians 9 16 for if I preach the gospel that gives me no ground for boasting for necessity is laid upon me woe to me if I do not preach the gospel so specific men explaining how it's something that they're compelled to do they must they really have no choice in the matter they must share the gospel and again you could say well those are very specific men

[17:07] Jeremiah prophet Paul called to be an apostle but again the call general 1st Peter 2 9 Peter writes but you all of you are a chosen race a royal priesthood a holy nation a people for his own possession why that you all of you may proclaim same word used in Romans 10 the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light it could have been translated preach that you may preach the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light we collectively have been given marching orders we have a mission as the church this is not just a holy club we come together to be equipped to go to be sent right Matthew 28 18 through 20 you may want to turn to this one please don't feel like you have to only turn when

[18:11] I tell you to Matthew 28 verse 18 through 20 most commonly! known as the Great commission! Jesus came and said to them all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me go therefore and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you and behold I am with you always to the end of the age and then Acts 1 8 right before Jesus ascends he says but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth and here we see in these two things the commands to go but you need to notice something about them in Matthew 28 he says go therefore and make disciples which more accurately could be translated in your going therefore make disciples this is a life of going which means it's not just to the ends of the earth but to your neighbor and to your co-worker and to your classmate in the going of your life you're meant to be making disciples to the ends of the earth starting here and to the ends of the earth the church is meant to make disciples we see that again in

[19:47] Acts 1 8 there's concentric circles happening here Jerusalem Judea Samaria and the end of the earth neglect where we are in the dream of someday being a foreign missionary because won't that be grand if you can't serve Jesus Christ here you are not qualified to serve him there don't put it off until then thinking at some point God's going to grow you to a maturity where you can share the good news you already can you have why so the first characteristic locally regionally globally that's how we're supposed to where we're supposed to share why are all of us qualified to do this because it's all done by the power that God provides you don't need special training to share the good news not that it's of damage to you training is good learning is good better understanding culture is good apologetics is helpful all those things but the power ultimately and finally will always no matter how smart you are will always lie with God look at the two things

[20:56] Matthew 28 Jesus said to them all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me and then he says go right he doesn't say it's been given to me and I'm sharing it with you he just says it's all been given to me and at the end of it he says and behold I am with you always I am the power of the gospel and then Acts 1 8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you so how is it that Jesus goes with us by the indwelling of the Spirit in our lives so missions then are meant to be local regional and global and by the power that God provides look at the expansion of it as we begin in Acts 1 8 you see Jesus making this statement to the apostles but it very rapidly in the early days of the church expands out beyond that in 115 we see 120 brothers okay some versions of the

[22:00] Bible will say disciples in that case in chapter 115 by chapter 4 verse 4 we see that the disciples were counted as 5,000 men which means there were probably women and children out beyond that number and then in 4 verse 31 it says and when they had prayed the place in which they were gathered together was shaken and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak what the word of God with boldness and then in 6 7 and the word of God continued to increase and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem so why did the disciples multiply greatly because the word of God was increasing where they were so these expanding numbers of people chapter 4 verse 4 5,000 men 431 received the Spirit and in 6 7 we see that the word of God was increasing it doesn't rewind back to the original apostles the record is not that and the apostles were really working hard man they were getting around they were having to share like madmen preaching 10 sermons a day right no the word of God was increasing amongst!

[23:12] them because they knew they were sent they knew that they all had in some regard an apostolic calling they were sent by God running the ridges right which I didn't mention before but just in case you don't get symbolism well the feet themselves aren't beautiful of the runner it's the news they're bringing right it's the news the good news of Jesus Christ we have all sinned true of all humankind that's the meta narrative right the story that we all share in every single one of us has sinned and therefore the condemnation of God is due us right we purchased it we asked for it and there's nothing we can do because we are totally lost totally spoiled in our sin there's nothing we can do to undo what's been done there's nothing we can do for the redemption of our souls it's only because of the sacrifice of Jesus

[24:18] Christ it's only because he bore the wrath of God on our behalf that we can believe in him and be justified in him this is the good news Jesus Christ God's major purpose in the world is to make himself great and what's the greatest way he can make himself great the proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christ Jesus his person and his work his birth life death burial resurrection ascension that's the good news that we proclaim and it makes God huge all of who God is culminated in the person and work of Jesus Christ and that's the gospel that we are meant to proclaim Jerusalem Judea Samaria to the ends of the earth the gospel spread rampantly it's a cool word to use in those early days spread like a fire due in large part or maybe a key cultural element in that spread was that the Roman empire was very efficient good roads centers of trade things of that nature culturally information was communicated very quickly but it took the work of the people who were sent

[25:43] Paul himself it's estimated that he traveled more than 10,000 miles some by boat imagine he hitched a ride on an animal occasionally but probably walked the vast majority of that we praise people who have hiked the Appalachian trail I think it's awesome I would love to be able to do it someday that's just over 2,000 miles Paul did 5 times this 10,000 plus miles sharing this good news of Jesus Christ today there are roughly 7 billion people in the world and I hope these stats are even close to right but this is just going to give you a picture so maybe you don't quote me on these 2.9 billion of those people are categorized as unreached let me tell you what that means that doesn't mean non-Christian that doesn't mean converted to Christ unreached means that in their people group less than 2% of those people are categorized as Christian by a very broad standard of that term maybe maybe not but they categorize themselves as Christian less than 2% of that population and that's about 7,000 people groups in the world there's a great great work to be done can it all be accomplished by us no should the staggering size of those numbers cause us to not be active absolutely not why

[27:18] God doesn't need us right God is spreading the gospel across this world but I want to be involved I hope you do too I can see that he has work to do right the end hasn't come yet because it's not here there's work to be done there's still so many opportunities for experience God and his movement in this world look at the numbers not to say that countries that are reached that have more than their status quo more than 2% of Christians don't need gospel carriers they do for sure right North Georgia right where we are desperately needs the gospel thousands of people around us are miserable lost in their sin their final destination is eternal damnation they need the gospel of Jesus Christ now we can't turn our backs on this we cannot neglect local mission for the sake of global but we ought to be doing all of that there are roughly 46,000 southern baptist churches jay watson and i were talking about this just the other day 46,000 southern baptist churches and an estimated 16 million members if you've been a baptist for very long you know that that's probably an inflated number because many of those are probably counted on three or four different rolls around but just the same we could cut it down to 10 million and it'd still be a massive massive number and the international mission board which is the southern baptist conventions sending agency for global missions has 5,000 roughly 5,000 missionaries out of 16 million american christians that ratio the ratio of churches to missionaries is 9 to 1 this doesn't mean that there aren't missionaries outside of certainly there are outside of international mission board missionaries but we just count them it's 9 to 1 so for every 9 southern baptist churches there's one international missionary going overseas if we calculate it by the number of members for how many missionaries there are it's .03% of american christians and here's the thing that really kind of makes me just i don't know i kind of want to ball up on the floor about it all i just want to sob for a while is that that's sad i mean that is just tragic that so few american christians are giving their lives full time to take the gospel to the nations what is possibly more tragic is that the christians that are here are doing nothing to spread the gospel they have relegated that responsibility to a few people in their church the full-time pastor the trained professional he's the one that should be sharing the good news my job as a member of a church is just to get somebody to get here if i can get them here i've done my job and then the full-time professional he can present the gospel to them right so many of us in this room are in that category do you believe that god can use you to bring somebody to himself do you believe that god is sovereign over the calling of his people that he will in fact accomplish his will and that he just might use someone like you a broken vessel to accomplish his purpose i don't think most of us do because if we did we would be sharing if we did we would proclaim the good news everywhere we went but instead

[31:18] we kind of hide our heads in the sand i think you're a pretty awesome group of people from what i know of all of you you your walks with christ are deeper than most that i know you love the scriptures you study them fervently you are trying to root out all the sin in your life and live holy lives but why do we not share more why is it that when you go and you sit at a coffee shop and the intention is to read your bible you feel a little ashamed to pull it out and sit it on your lap right you can't hide them because they have gold leafing on the edges everyone knows what it is why is that why are we so afraid of being weird is it because we don't want to associate with the truly weird possible I like the movies Star Wars I think they're pretty good the original ones I saw the first of the whatever I guess it would have been episode one and Jar Jar bothered me so much I didn't watch any of the rest of them but the original

[32:22] Star Wars I really like but I don't talk about Star Wars you want to know why weird people talk about Star Wars will not be one of them right is that what we've done is that what we've done with our Savior because people who are quite frankly a bit odd and fanatical have made it not cool to be Christians were ashamed I hope not I hope not what if what if we believed that God had a plan for North Georgia just North Georgia not the other just North Georgia and that he was going to use all of us as part of that plan what if we just believed that maybe in this next year in 12 months time we might play a part in bringing someone to saving faith in Christ we would double the people in this room pretty awesome right we're sitting down together and dreaming about what would be exalting to God in North

[33:25] Georgia to see our church double could make that list right I'd throw that up there and you know what I'd probably do at that point I'd probably say that seems a little unrealistic double in a year wow God wants to do things like that I want to stand on the porch and preach the parking lot because we can't fit people in the room anymore I want to believe that God is planning to accomplish big things and I believe he does and I believe that he's waiting to accomplish it because he loves us because he wants us to be the ones that ends to the mean he wants us to carry that gospel to those people I hope we can do that together one of my favorite missionaries now because last year the men studied this guy for the men's retreat this guy named John G.

[34:21] Patton and he went to a little group of islands in the South Pacific called the New Hebrides if you draw a straight line between Hawaii and Sydney Australia they're roughly in the middle of that area the New Hebrides occupied by cannibals it's now known as Vanuatu if you're looking for a vacation spot John G.

[34:44] Patton decided to go there the previous I think it was in 1854 he went the previous missionaries that had gone went there in 1839 John Williams and James Harris they were dropped off on the beach the boat was pulling away they were clubbed to death and eaten in sight of the ship that had dropped them off so this is the scene that John G.

[35:04] Patton is the last thing that has happened there as Christianity tried to advance and he decides he's going to go he went with a new wife three months they had been married and they had a child shortly after they go to this place to minister the gospel to cannibals he was a bold bold man he said this and I love this he said amongst many who sought to deter me was one dear old Christian gentleman whose crowning argument always was the cannibals you will be eaten by cannibals this old guy in his church kept on trying to get him to not go by saying they're going to eat you John if you go they're going to eat you we have fears don't we about sharing the gospel do you feel like at the coffee shop sometimes you're going to get eaten absolutely right you just feel like if you put it out there someone is going to shut you down and they're going to shut you down hard and you don't want that to happen right so this guy saying to him don't go they're going to eat you it's going to be a total waste of time why go proclaim the gospel to these people because they're just going to eat you and listen to his reply he says at last

[36:13] I replied so he gave him a lot of chances to talk him out of it but he says at last I replied Mr. Dixon you are advanced in years now and your own prospect is soon to be laid in the grave there to be eaten by worms I confess to you that I can but live and die serving and honoring the Lord Jesus it claiming after that I have nothing more to say John said to him someday I'll die and if I can do that in the service of my Lord Jesus Christ so be it however he takes me is fine with me in whatever manner my life lives out as long as I'm doing it to the service of

[37:15] Jesus Christ so be it do we recognize the good news the victory of Jesus Christ over he's vanquished the darkness he's vanquished sin forever do we see that as good news are we willing to run the ridge and proclaim that I think most of us are sitting in camp going way to go good job King Jesus it's good news we should run we should proclaim it because I believe in the sovereignty of God because I believe he is fully in control of all things I hope that every single one of you is called to be a foreign missionary I hope that all of you want to go and die for the sake of the gospel and you pack your bags and you leave tomorrow preach to myself in this room probably just come here and sit by myself and praise

[38:27] God for all the people he called to go to foreign missions because I can tell you this the cause of global missions has never nor will it ever hurt the cause of the local church because they're one and the same they are tied together missionary is a term we invented!

[38:49] we're all meant to be missionaries we've all been called we've all been sent to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ why? why?

[39:00]  because how will they believe in what they have not heard? and they must believe to call on the name of the Lord and guess what? if anybody does that while we fully embrace the sovereign election of God if anybody calls on the name of the Lord confesses with their mouth believes in their heart they will be saved and that's why we go and proclaim the good news let's pray together