Romans 10:13-21
13for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
14How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
16But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our message?" 17Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
18But I ask: Did they not hear?
Of course they did:
"Their voice has gone out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world."
19Again I ask: Did Israel not understand?
First, Moses says,
"I will make you envious by those who are not a nation;
I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding."
20And Isaiah boldly says,
"I was found by those who did not seek me;
I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me."
21But concerning Israel he says,
"All day long I have held out my hands
to a disobedient and obstinate people."
We ended last week with Romans chapter 10:13 and today we will start with Romans chapter 10:13.
Verse 13 sets up the last half of Romans chapter 10 so we must go back to it in order for us to understand it in its proper context.
13for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
Now for starters the fact is that when we call on the name of the Lord, God is already started to work in our lives. That is why we even begin to realize that we are in need of Him. That we are not in control like we thought we were.
We have talked in the past about what is needed for salvation, so I wanted to just briefly go over again a few things we must have in order for the salvation process to take place. Keep in mind that these three things are not by our works in any way but the work of God within us through Christ and the Holy Spirit.
Intellectual knowledge, instilled in us by Christ through His word (Will talk more later)
Personal belief of that knowledge
Living a life dedicated and committed to that knowledge
These three elements must be all met in order for salvation to be a reality. Any one of these three truths not found in a person that claims salvation, is deceiving themselves about their salvation. Not any one or two of these combined will do it, it must be all three.
But we do see one more critical thing here in verse 13 and that is the calling on of Christ to come in to your life. Acknowledging that He is Lord and Savior and that you can’t do it on your own and you need Him to do it for you.
This is as important of an element as the other three, because it says "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" and I would say that it means that we must call on Jesus in order to be saved. Again it is acknowledgement of who Christ is and that we need Him to be a part of our lives. It is admitting that we were wrong and that only He can get us on the right path.
Paul gives a picture of how this process comes about but he puts it in an ascending order going back through the steps.
14-15 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
Christ sends out believers to share His gospel message usually through the church but this sending out does come directly from Jesus and is a personal responsibility of every Christian.
We are all called to proclaim Christ as Lord and Savior; both as a church and as individuals.
Christ speaks directly to that person through His word. It is not just the hearing of the words but Christ communicating with them directly through His words.
The personal belief of Christ’s word, which is a gift from God.
I believe this with all my heart, that we, that is every single one of us, has a personal responsibility to be a part of spreading the gospel message of Jesus Christ.
If you personally haven’t ever been a part of bringing someone to Christ, I have to tell you, it is the most rewarding thing you will personally ever experience.
Challenge yourself, talk to someone about your life as a believer in Christ and then don’t just leave them hanging, continue talking to them, invite them here to church, we each need to be a continual part of the process, like nurturing a baby.
Matthew 9:37-38 Then he said (Christ) to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
We always hear of churches that send out missionaries around the world to spread the gospel message about Christ. And this is a good thing but what I would like to see from this church is being missionaries right here in our own back yard. That we would go out in to our own communities and lead people to Christ right here.
It is a command of Christ for us to do this and we must be obedient in this area.
You may be thinking about this and remembering how over the last several chapters we kept seeing and talking about how God predestines us for salvation. So if that is the case then why do we need to do anything?
Well here are a couple of reasons:
God tells us to do it and by us evangelizing it brings Him glory which is what it is all about.
That God uses us as a part of the process. We are the ones that preach the word which then God uses to draw his people to Him and Christ.
16-17 But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our message?" 17Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
When I read to you the words from this Bible, is it me that has any power over you, that I somehow build in you faith? The power comes from God correct?
The words themselves on these pages do they have any power over you? No, the power comes from God, Christ and the Holy Spirit.
There are some that will read these words or may have these words read to them but will not have a changed life.
Then there are others that will read theses words or have them read to them that will have a changed life. They will become true Christians. That will happen because God, Christ and the Holy Spirit working together will bring to that person knowledge, faith and the desire to live a life that reflects these words. There is no other way it can happen.
20And Isaiah boldly says,
"I was found by those who did not seek me;
I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me."
That is what God has done for us. We were not seeking Him but yet He revealed Himself to us. He loved us enough to seek us even when we were not seeking Him. He loved us enough to reveal Himself to us even when we did not ask for Him.
21But concerning Israel he says,
"All day long I have held out my hands
to a disobedient and obstinate people."
The truth is we were just like Israel. We rejected God, we ran from Him as fast as we could, we slapped away His outstretched hands. He begged us to come to Him with open arms but we didn’t.
He loved us enough to save us from our worst enemy… ourselves. For that we must give Him all the Glory.
14-15 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15And how can they preach unless they are sent?
Brothers and Sisters this church is officially sending you out in to your neighborhoods, in to your work, wherever you may be, you are sent out to tell others about the good news of Jesus Christ.
It is as simple as this:
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
That is our message; that is the hope we bring to others, that is our mission.
Talk to a neighbor, talk to a coworker, invite them to church with you, if you have family or friends in town bring them along. It is only one hour and it may be an hour that changes their entire life.
I am a Christian today because someone took the time to share the message of Christ with me. I would say you are a Christian also because of the same reason. Now it is your turn to make a difference in someone’s life. It is your turn to repay the debt that you owe to the person that shared Christ with you.
That is what it is about, being Disciples of Christ, making Disciples of Christ, which then make more Disciples of Christ.
