The Message Proclaimed

The Message Proclaimed

"And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!' "

— Romans 10:14–15

From the original Greek, we could translate the final question in Romans 10:14 as, "How shall they hear without one preaching?" The Phillips translation puts it this way, "How can they hear unless someone proclaims Him?" Therefore, we see the emphasis is not on a preacher, but on preaching.

We may think the work of evangelism is only for those who are called to be evangelists. Granted, there are people in the church whom God has raised up to be evangelists, and certainly evangelism is not limited to those who preach to hundreds or thousands at a time. I have seen many individual believers who obviously have this gift.

While it is true that some are called to be evangelists, it is also true that every Christian is called to evangelize. Many times, however, we avoid sharing our faith, deciding instead to just live it out, be a good witness, and leave the preaching to others.

Yet in 1 Corinthians 1:21, it says, "For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe."

This does not mean that we need to scream and yell and wave a Bible to get the point across. What it does mean is that we are to recognize the primary way God has chosen to reach the lost is through the proclamation of the gospel–by people. God has chosen the agency of His proclaimed Word to bring people to salvation.

"And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!' "

— Romans 10:14–15

From the original Greek, we could translate the final question in Romans 10:14 as, "How shall they hear without one preaching?" The Phillips translation puts it this way, "How can they hear unless someone proclaims Him?" Therefore, we see the emphasis is not on a preacher, but on preaching.

We may think the work of evangelism is only for those who are called to be evangelists. Granted, there are people in the church whom God has raised up to be evangelists, and certainly evangelism is not limited to those who preach to hundreds or thousands at a time. I have seen many individual believers who obviously have this gift.

While it is true that some are called to be evangelists, it is also true that every Christian is called to evangelize. Many times, however, we avoid sharing our faith, deciding instead to just live it out, be a good witness, and leave the preaching to others.

Yet in 1 Corinthians 1:21, it says, "For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe."

This does not mean that we need to scream and yell and wave a Bible to get the point across. What it does mean is that we are to recognize the primary way God has chosen to reach the lost is through the proclamation of the gospel–by people. God has chosen the agency of His proclaimed Word to bring people to salvation.

Who Will Go?

Who Will Go?

"Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?' Then I said, 'Here am I! Send me.' "

— Isaiah 6:8

God said in the presence of Isaiah, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" In a sense, God is still asking this question. Whom shall I send? Who will go for us? Will you go? Will you stand in the gap?

If God's Holy Spirit were to search among us today, I wonder if He would find men or women willing to stand in the gap. Willing to pray. Willing to be available. Willing to reach out to those who do not know Him.

A lot of Christians will say, "I'm too timid. I'm afraid of this and that." But I think a lot of Christians don't really have a burden for those who don't know the Lord. I think if that burden is burning with enough passion, a believer will work through the obstacles.

That is not to say there aren't things we should learn so we can share our faith more effectively. But if the burden is really there, a believer will go out and do something with it.

The bottom line is that sharing our faith isn't really a big deal to many of us. This is why it is so important that we have a God-given burden for unbelievers.

I would rather make every mistake to be made in sharing my faith than to never do anything. At least I will hopefully learn something from my mistakes.

But when we do nothing for fear of being rejected or for fear we will not meet with resounding success, we are really missing what God has called us to do.

A Passion for the Lost

A Passion for the Lost

"My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them."

— Romans 9:2–3

The apostle Paul had something essential for effective evangelism: a God-given burden for those who did not know Jesus Christ. In his case, the burden was for his own people, the Jews. He cared. It burned inside him.

General William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, once said that his desire, had it been possible, would be to dangle his evangelism trainees over hell for 24 hours. That way, they could see the reality that awaits those who do not know Jesus Christ.

That wouldn't have been necessary for Paul, who spoke of his love and burning passion for unbelievers. I think it is there for us in Scripture so that we don't become so obsessed with our own struggles and spiritual growth that we forget about people who need to know Christ.

I think Paul makes an amazing statement in Romans 9 when he says, in essence, "If it were possible, I would give up my hope of eternal life so that others who do not know could come to faith." That's a pretty dramatic statement.

As believers, you and I have a responsibility to those outside the church—those outside the faith. If God's love is really working in our lives, it should motivate us to do something for Him.

Do you have a God-given burden for those who do not know Jesus Christ? If you don't, do you want one?

If you pray that God will give you this burden, then be careful. The results could be life-changing. You just may be surprised at how quickly He answers you.

The Problem with Pride

The Problem with Pride

"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."

— 1 John 1:8

I had to laugh when I heard the story of two men who approached the great British preacher, C. H. Spurgeon, one day and told him, "Spurgeon, we have reached sinless perfection."

"Really?" he asked.

"Yes," they said, "We are absolutely perfect."

Spurgeon was holding a pitcher of water at the time, and he poured it on their heads. When they began to react like any other sinners would, he found out just how perfect they were.

You see, the people who walk around claiming to have reached sinless perfection are victims of one of the most powerful yet subtle sins: pride. None of us will reach sinless perfection—not in this life.

Granted, before we were Christians, we were under the control and power of sin. We went along with whatever our sinful natures dictated.

But something dramatic happened when we received Christ. We were changed. The Bible says that we became new creations in Christ. Old things passed away and all things became new (see 2 Corinthians 5:17).

That is not to say we still don't struggle with sin and temptation. The Scripture clearly teaches that we will sin and that we will have lapses.

Although the Bible tells me I will sin, there is a difference between sinning and being sorry for it, and sinning habitually, persistently, and continually. If someone claims to be a Christian and yet continues in sin, my question is whether that person has ever been truly converted.

Some people wonder whether such a Christian ever could lose his or her salvation. I would suggest that another question should be asked instead: Did he or she ever experience salvation to begin with?

impartation

The Power of Impartation

"But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life."

— Romans 6:22

Are you happy with the way that you are right now? Are there things in your life you would like to see dramatically altered?

Perhaps, like many other people, you make bold resolutions whenever a new year rolls around. You make plans regarding what changes you want to make in the coming year. But it's not long until you have gone back on those great resolutions.

In the same way, as Christians we are often defeated in day-to-day living because we don't really realize how many resources God has placed in our spiritual account. A lot of times we say, "God help me. God, give me this. God, give me that." Meanwhile, God is saying, "Will you please go check your account? I have deposited more than you could ever use. Check it out."

Can you imagine a soldier fighting a battle with no ammunition, while he was sitting on a bunker filled with thousands and thousands of rounds of ammo, more than he could use in a thousand wars? He has more than he needs right under him, but he is trying to fight the battle without the resources he has.

Our defeat in our battle with sin and temptation lies largely in our ignorance of the facts. In Jesus Christ there is power to live a new life and to no longer be under sin's control. That power is not in imitation, because you can imitate Jesus all you want and try to be like Him. The power comes from impartation.

God has done something for you, and now it is for you to appropriate that divine provision.

straining towards the goal

Straining towards the Goal

"I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

— Philippians 3:14

The word used for "press" in Philippians 3:14 carries in the meaning of "strong exertion." Every muscle of the runner is burning. He can see the ribbon. He has only a few more feet to go in the race. He must press on.

It is the same in our lives as Christians. There are times when it just gets hard. But it is then that we learn what it means to walk by faith and not by feeling. You can't live on an emotional high as a Christian. You must pace yourself in this race you are running. You can't expect that every time you go to church, you will have some great emotional encounter with God. Sometimes you will. Sometimes you won't. Growing up and learning to walk by faith are part of spiritual maturity.

When you first made a commitment to Christ, you discovered the joy and wonderful peace that comes from being forgiven. But you must realize that this is a walk by faith. You must press on even when it gets hard.

Maybe, as you have been running, you have found yourself in a place where you are dragging burdens, sins, or other things along. Maybe you find that you don't even know why you are running the race anymore. Maybe you have become discouraged.

Look up and remember that it is Jesus whom you are running for. Two thousand years ago, He loved you so much that He went to the cross and died there. He shed His blood for you. Then He rose again from the dead. Because He did that for you, you can live for Him today. He will give you the strength.