Sermon Tone Analysis

Over the last few weeks, we have been returning to basic spiritual doctrines to reaffirm some tools for the trade.

That is, we are studying various ways to respond to the grace we’ve been given as we strive to live obedient, godly lives.

We know that these particular disciplines do not make us holy, as only the work of Christ can remove the stains of sin on our hearts, but rather these are among the tools that help us to live truly as believers who have been justified by faith alone.

So far we’ve studied the disciplines of Scripture Reading, Prayer, and Serving.

Today, I would like to bring your attention to the discipline of evangelism.

As always, I want to form a biblical basis for the discipline in our lives, then work out some practical application which we can develop in our own lives.

Remember, the goal throughout this series is to move from a place of simply proclaiming faith to a place of possessing faith evidenced by genuine godly love.

Just as with the earlier disciplines, there are many fantastic places we can turn in Scripture.

For our time together today, let’s jump straight into Romans 10:13-17.

As you turn there, allow me to pray over our time together in the Word.

Pray.

Again, let’s jump right into the text together, which is Romans 10:13-17.

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The gospel is to be made available to everyone.

As we have been doing over the last few weeks, we need to look, first, at the context of this passage if we are to understand a biblical basis for the discipline of evangelism.

In Paul’s letter to the Romans, chapters 9-11 take up the task of explaining God’s righteousness to Israel and the Gentiles.

Nestled in chapter 10, is a short section, which we just read, that deals with the need to send out those who will bring the good news.

Paul is explaining that there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, or Gentile.

What he is saying, is that God is the same God over all who believe regardless of nation, tribe, or tongue.

If someone confesses with their mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believes in their heart that God raised Him from the dead, as Romans 10:9 says, they will be saved.

He even reminds us of the scripture which says, “Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame,” citing Isaiah 28:16.

The point that Paul is making is that whether someone is Jewish or not, the gospel is available to them.

Said another way, the gospel is to be made available to all people.

The good news of a savior is not reserved for only a few, but rather that news is to be shared with every nation, every tribe, and every tongue.

Why? Because, as our passage for today begins, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Now, Paul spend some time detailing confessing with one’s mouth and believing with one’s heart prior to verse 13, because he was making the distinction that saving faith is not simply an intellectual statement, but rather a deep trust centered in the core of one’s being.

Simply reciting a prayer or merely walking down an isle is not what Paul means by the verses preceding our passage.

Instead, Paul is describing a deep inward trust that may or may not be evidenced by the outward reciting of a prayer or walking down of an aisle at the prompting of a preacher.

That deep trust compels one to call on Christ to save him.

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Pauls Links in the Chain to Salvation

From here, Paul launches into a series of events, like links in a chain, that he feels is necessary for someone to be saved.

Before we deal with that chain, I must point out that, here, Paul is not dealing with the questions of how Old Testament Saints are saved, or how those are saved who die prior to being able comprehend their need for a savior, as those questions are dealt with elsewhere (Such as in Romans 4 and 2 Samuel 12).

What Paul does here is establish a chain that serves as the basis for the urgency for spreading the gospel to the ends of the earth.

As you read verses 14-15, you can see the progression:

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The word “Call” in verse 14 links these two verses back to Romans 10:13 “For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.””

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Quickly, here is the progression:

1.

People will call on Jesus only when they believe He will save them.

Have you ever watched toddlers stumble and fall?

Please, allow me to explain before you think I’m weird.

Very young toddlers, first learning to walk haven’t learned balance and how to brace themselves yet.

Once they know that they can reach out for something to stop them from falling, they do so.

Until then they just kind of face-plant around until they figure it out.

We’re not unlike toddlers in our fallen state.

It’s beautiful thing once you realize there is something to reach for, and then you cling to it for safety.

Likewise, People will only call on Jesus when they believe that He is there to save them.

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2. People can believe in Jesus only if they know of Him.

Paul asks how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard.

We believe that nature itself cries out that there is a God, but that crying out isn’t enough to tell us of our need for a savior, nor of who that savior is.

We simply cannot believe in Christ if we’ve never heard of Him.

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3.

People can only know of Jesus once the gospel is proclaimed.

People often don’t know what they don’t know.

I once heard someone say, “What you don’t know can’t hurt you.”

I thought to myself, “I wonder if an electrician cutting random wires would agree with that.”

Knowing whether or not the wires are live is awfully important.

That’s why you often see the signs that say, “Know before you dig,” because there are buried power lines that can cause quite a reaction if you didn’t know they were there.

Contrary to popular opinion, what you don’t know can actually be deadly in certain circumstances.

Ignorance is not always bliss.

One can only know of Jesus and their need for Him if He is proclaimed to them.

Paul asks, “How are they to hear without someone preaching?”

The word for “preaching” there refers to publicly proclaiming a message.

People can only know of Jesus if He is proclaimed to them as the Word of God is shared.

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4. The gospel will only be proclaimed if someone is sent to proclaim it.

The word of God is only going to be shared with others as it is carried and spread to the ends of the earth.

People are only going to carry the proclamation of the good news to the ends of the earth if they are sent.

There are some who say that only pastors or missionaries are sent to proclaim the good news.

To counter that argument, listen to the following verses from each of the Gospel and the book of Acts:

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Jesus, speaking to His disciples, said in Matthew 28:

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Similarly, Jesus told His disciples in Mark 16:

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After meeting with the disciples on the road to Emmaus, Jesus said the following in Luke 24:

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In John’s gospel, chapter 21, we find this:

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Finally, we see where Jesus indicated that His followers would be His witnesses, saying:

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Clearly Jesus did not intend for only a few to share the good news.

Rather, the gospel is to be proclaimed by every believer.

Every disciple or follower of Christ is to share the gospel.

The feet of those who do proclaim the good news are considered to be beautiful.

The Gospel is to be proclaimed by every believer.

Paul closes Romans 10: 14-15 saying, “As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!””

One commentary shares that the idea of the feet being beautiful of those preaching good news carries the imagery of a runner returning from battle with news of either a victory or defeat.

In that region, a runner could be spotted from a long way off as they would kick up dust running back to report the news.

The lookouts could tell the difference between a runner with good news or bad news based on how they ran.

If they were bringing bad news, they kind of plodded along with heavy feet.

If they were bringing news of a victory, they would have an enthusiastic step and lots of dust would be kicked up as they happily ran to share the good news.

It was a beautiful sight to see the dust kicked up by feet carrying good news!

The commentator says, “God appoints human messengers as vessels of the greatest treasure that we could possibly find: the truth of our redemption.

There is no greater privilege in all the world than to bear that treasure to someone else, to tell them the story of Christ.”

Having our basis for evangelism rooted firmly in Scripture, with the time we have remaining, I want to look at a few very practical ways that we can grow in this discipline.

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We must engage in evangelism.