PREACHING MATTERS by Dr. Shah, Clearview Church, Henderson, NC
Introduction: William Carey was a missionary to India in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. He was born in 1761 in Paulerspury, Northamptonshire, England. Here, he attended the 12th century St. James Church. His father is buried there, and his grave says – “Reader, time is short, prepare to meet thy God.” Is it any wonder that Carey would go on to become the Father of Modern Missions! He went on to take up shoemaking, which was a popular trade around there. Later, he got saved at 17 years of age, and God called him to missionary work through reading Captain Cook’s Journals. He made a great leather globe of the world to remind him of the lost world. He taught himself Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Dutch, and French while making shoes! When at a minister’s meeting, he brought up the subject of starting a missionary society, he was reprimanded with the words – “Young man, sit down: when God pleases to covert the heathen, He will do it without your aid or mine.” In 1792, at the age of 21, he wrote the pamphlet “An Enquiry into the Obligations of the Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathen,” which was very instrumental in inspiring others to become missionaries. Later he made the statement which is often quoted – “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.” The following year, he came to India with his family. He translated the whole Bible into 6 different languages and some sections into 29 others. He made his first convert after 7 years of labor! Our family’s connection to William Carey is interesting because, after seminary, my dad was called to be the pastor of Carey Baptist Church in Calcutta, which was founded by William Carey. Dad turned it down to take the small church where we grew up.
Romans 10 (page #1745) 14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 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!”
Context: The context in which Paul wrote those words was to explain to the divided church in Rome what was happening with the Jewish people. As you know, the church in Rome in the first century was divided between Jewish background and Gentile background believers. Their big debate was over the continued relevance of the Law. Paul wrote to teach them that even though the Law was no longer relevant with the coming of Christ, the principles of the Law still mattered. Related to that, there was a larger question regarding the relevance of the Jewish people. Was God finished with them? Did the promises God had made to the fathers had been revoked since the nation had rejected the Messiah. If you were here last few weekends, we learned that Paul took the readers and us into the Christ Time to help us see the promises of God to Israel from his perspective. When we look at past, present, and future from Christ Time, God’s promises were abiding and certain. He chose them not for salvation but for service. He chose them to bring his Son into this world. Even though his Son has come and all Israel did not receive him, his promises to Israel are still intact.
Application: How do you see the promises of God? From earthly perspective? If so, you will get discouraged and give into doubts and defeats. You must see them from his perspective. When you do, you realize that all his promises are abiding and certain. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1:20 “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.”
Paul lays out the plan of salvation for the Jewish people, which is the same for all of us. Romans 10 (page #1745) 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. In other words, you have to believe and confess. Then the promise from scripture is 11 “…Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”
Application: Have you believed? Have you confessed?
While Paul is explaining all this regarding why many in Israel are not saved, he is also tellings us how any many in the world are also not saved. There are no 2 plans of salvations. There has always been just one plan of salvation for the Jewish people/Israel and for the Gentile people/World. Listen to Romans 10 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”
What is keeping them from being saved? The same thing that keeps us from being saved. Romans 10 14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? Paul asks 4 rhetorical questions that lay out the steps to how the people get saved. John Stott, in his commentary on Romans, wrote, “The essence of Paul’s argument is seen if we put his six verbs in the opposite order: Christ sends heralds; heralds preach; people hear; hearers believe; believers call; and those who call are saved.
1. The preachers are sent.
2. Those sent preach the gospel. This preaching can be with a capital letters/upper case P, as in as the pastor preaching in the church, or it can be with a small letters/lower case p as in people sharing the gospel.
3. People hear the gospel. The case of the man who didn’t want me to visit his friend who was dying the hospital!
4. Some who hear believe the gospel.
5. Those who believe call upon God to be saved.
6. Those who call upon God to be saved are saved. There is no picking and choosing here. Everyone who calls is saved by God.
Romans 10 15 “…As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!’”
How beautiful it is when God sends his people as pastors and missionaries to share the gospel with the lost world! Equally beautiful it is when God sends you and you to go to your neighbor, friend, co-worker, family member, random stranger, and even people who are our enemies to share the gospel. As a church, we are sending help, as we speak, to people in Africa. Last VBS, our kids took up a love offering. Because of that, they are rebuilding the church in this small village. Someone might say, “We have needs here.” We will meet those needs, but we cannot ignore these needs as well. My goal is that in the years ahead we will give $1M to International missions. Proverbs 11:24 “There is one who scatters, yet increases more; And there is one who withholds more than is right, But it leads to poverty.” One of the tests of a true gospel preaching church is this – “Are the poor hearing the gospel?” Matthew 11 2 “And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples 3 and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” 4Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: 5 The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. Do the rich not need to hear the gospel? Everyone needs to, but most of our efforts are directed towards the rich and none towards the poor.
Application: What kind of feet do you have? Some people have wicked feet. Proverbs 1 15My son, do not walk in the way with them, Keep your foot from their path; 16 For their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed blood.” Isaiah 59 7 Their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed innocent blood; Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; Wasting and destruction are in their paths.” Where are your feet headed each day? Towards the phone, gossip, or negativity? Or towards the Word of God, prayer, and some lost soul?
Unfortunately, not all Israel has obeyed the gospel. Romans 10 16 “But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, ‘LORD, who has believed our report?’” The same principle also applies to the whole world. 17 “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
Back to the quote by John Stott – “And the relentless logic of Paul’s case for evangelism is felt most forcibly when the stages are stated negatively and each is seen to be essential to the next. Thus, unless some people are commissioned for the task, there will be no gospel preachers; unless the gospel is preached, sinners will not hear Christ’s message and voice; unless they hear him, they will not believe the truths of his death and resurrection; unless they believe these truths, they will not call on him; and unless they call on his name, they will not be saved.”
Invitation: If people have to call on the name of Jesus, which is Romans 10:9 “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved,” where will people in your life stand on the Day of Judgment? Children, grandchildren, friends, neighbors, co-workers? Where will you stand on the Day of Judgment? Are you saved?