The Priority of Proclamation

Open: With any venture of value, there is a corresponding desired result. In professional sports the desired result is to win; for education the desired result is for the student to graduate with mastery of content; for a corporate marketing strategy the desired result is an increase in sales

Transition: The Church should also have a desired result. While many churches have drifted and are simply going through the motions, a faithful Church should have the desire to see God’s Kingdom expand and for the saints to mature as disciples. This is an important topic and we should be giving much prayer as to getting this right.

Let’s look at today’s text and learn God’s principles for how this is to be achieved.

READ TEXT: Romans 10:14-21

Proclaiming the Gospel is the means by which lost people are saved (Romans 10:14)

Explanation: Paul has just given the desired outcome in v. 13, when he declares that “whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.” Paul had a burden to see sinners transformed into saints through the power of the Gospel. Paul also knew that a personal faith in Christ’s redemptive work is the only means of salvation.

In an effort to share his burden with his audience, he asks a series of questions which lead to the importance of proclaiming the Gospel. He sets up the questions backwards from the finish line. If the end goal is for people to call on the Lord for salvation, he wants his listeners to consider how this happens.

How can one call upon Jesus with belief?

How can a person believe in someone he or she doesn’t know?

How does a person know about Jesus unless someone proclaims the truth of Jesus?

How does the one proclaiming the message do so unless he or she is sent to proclaim it?

Argument: God could send an Angel to every lost sinner on the globe and have that Angel perform undeniable miracles and then tell each one about Jesus. God could light up the sky with written messages in different languages proclaiming the Gospel. God could materially prosper every genuine believer and keep them in perfect health and free from any effects of sin in the world.

God could do those things, but He is not. Instead, His plan from the beginning was to have one generation of believers live out their faith in Christ and tell others the Gospel story. God has preserved His remnant for over 2,000 years and will continue to do so until Jesus returns for His bride.

This reality highlights the PRIORITY of Proclaiming the Gospel. There is no other organization outside the Church who faithfully tells others about the hope in Jesus.

Illustrate: The southeast of America is currently experiencing the aftermath of Hurricane Ian. Parts of Florida, Georgia, SC and NC have been damaged and will see the arrival of many relief agencies. Some agencies with a humanitarian focus will come and offer real aid - they will feed, clothe, and help to rebuild - all to help out a neighbor in need. It will be the Christian Disaster relief groups (Samaritan’s Purse, Baptist Men, and others) who will also feed, clothe, and help rebuild, but they will also share the life-giving message of the Gospel

Application: We CAN stay true to the message. We CAN keep the Gospel as a priority. When we stop sharing the Gospel in our benevolent ministries we are no different than the Red Cross or FEMA. We MUST resist the low road of the social gospel that only meets physical needs without addressing the spiritual needs.

The Priority of the Gospel requires that we prepare those who will share the message (Romans 10:15, 17)

Explanation: Paul’s next rhetorical question addresses the issue of the origin of those who proclaim the Gospel. Where do these preachers come from? Does God drop them out of heaven in various parts of the world to share His message? No, He does not. But He does call and equip men and women to share the Gospel.

Paul quotes from the prophet Isaiah when he declares “how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace” Paul is telling his audience that God has been faithful in sending His prophets and His preachers for thousands of years and He will continue to do so.

Argument: We have been given a sacred trust in preparing the next generation of Gospel preachers. It is vital for our Bible colleges and seminaries to maintain biblical conservatism. It is no small matter that many seminaries in this country with prestigious names and a rich theological history have abandoned the Gospel.

What’s the point you ask? The point is that the pastor who fills this pulpit for Smyrna Baptist Church 20 years from now needs solid, conservative training. As important as the training, he needs a vibrant relationship with Jesus and the Call of God upon his life to the Gospel ministry.

I have been discussing God’s call upon men to the pastorate, but you may have noticed that a few moments ago i made the statement that God calls and equips men and women to share the Gospel. The word in verses 14 & 15 translated preacher actually means a herald - one who proclaims a message with a specific content. The Bible clearly restricts the office of pastor to qualified men, but the word preacher in this context does not refer to church leadership but to evangelism. All believers, men and women alike, have been commanded by Jesus to go and tell the Gospel and to make disciples (Matt. 28:18-20)

Paul sums up his rhetorical questions in v. 17 when he declares that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. If our desire is for people to get saved, we are to be involved in the business of proclaiming the Word. The content of the Word is crucial - lost people need to hear from God, not our opinion.

Application: Pray and ask God to raise up pastors and missionaries from Smyrna. Pray and ask God for opportunities for you to share the Gospel with a co-worker, a teammate, or some one you go to school with. Many believers never personally share their faith with the lost because they have been taught (or they assume) that it’s the preacher’s job. Paul is writing this letter to Church members, it is not addressed to seminary students or to the local pastor’s conference.

We are called to the Priority of Preaching the Gospel regardless of the results (Romans 10:16)

Explanation: While Paul is very focused on personally proclaiming the Gospel and encouraging other believers to join with him, he is not unaware that many who hear the Gospel also reject the Gospel. This rejection of God’s truth is not new. Again, Paul quotes from Isaiah when the prophet shares how many of the Israelites of his day disobeyed the Good News of God’s grace (Isa 53:1) In that same passage Isaiah tells us that Jesus would be despised and rejected by men (Isa 53:3)

Back in Romans 10:19-21, Paul discusses how the reality of the Gentiles coming to faith in Christ may spur the Jews toward faith in Christ through jealousy of being left out. Paul cares about his fellow Jews so much that he is prayerful that anything, even other people groups becoming Christians, would challenge them to see the truth of the Messiah.

Illustrate: God is at work in other parts of the world. Jesus is building His Church in Africa and in China in amazing ways. There are Chinese pastors who are defying the government by refusing to compromise their Christian convictions. Pastors and church members are going to jail instead of selling out on the Gospel to become a safe “state-approved” church.

I would hope and pray that the courageous actions of our foreign brothers and sisters in Christ would spur us towards a more mature faith. I pray that these reports would strengthen and prepare me personally for the journey ahead