Through Proclamation

Shamelessly Proclaim The Beautiful Good News

2.9.25 [Romans 10:4-17] River of Life (5th Sunday of Epiphany)

Grace and peace to you who have been gifted hope-filled hearts, powerful words, and beautiful feet by our Triune God. Amen. 

Agree or Disagree: Sharing your faith with someone else can be intimidating. Agree, right? Maybe not all the time to every single person. But for most of us, most of the time, the idea of actually sharing your faith with someone who doesn’t already believe what you believe is so intimidating that we don’t even begin to do it at all. 

But why? Why is it intimidating? Admitting we are intimidated implies there is someone or something that is making us timid or frightened into not doing the thing we want to do, the thing we know we ought to do. So who or what is making us timid in sharing our faith? Is it the devil? Is it the scare tactics of the sinful world? Is it our own personal insecurities? Is it a deep fear of change and the future ramifications? 

I suppose you could say yes to some or even all of those questions. All those things might be reasons why we get intimidated. But evaluate each of them. Do a power ranking. Which is the most intimidating? The devil? The scare tactics of the world? Personal insecurities? Fear of change? 

It feels strange to admit that my greatest intimidations in sharing my faith are my own insecurities and fear of change rather than the scare tactics of the sinful world or even the old wicked foe. How about you? 

Today, when we are given an opportunity to share our faith we are not worried that the devil will attack us or our listener. We are not afraid the powers that be are going to abuse us. We’re afraid that it won’t go well. That an acquaintance will diplomatically decline our invitation to come to our church because they’re not the church going type. We’re afraid that someone might ask us questions about God or the Bible we’ve never thought about before and we won’t have a good answer and we’ll feel foolish. We’re afraid that if we go meet a stranger in the community or at their doorstep, they’ll be disinterested and shake their head and walk away or close their front door. We’re afraid that if we bring up Jesus it’ll change how things are between us and a close friend.

And when we admit any of those things to ourselves, we’re ashamed.  And we begin to spiral. We feel guilty and foolish and selfish and silly. When you’re feeling ashamed and guilty, selfish, silly, and foolish, you want to hide, not strike up a conversation with strangers. The very last thing we feel like doing as guilty people is to proclaim the Gospel.  

But in our reading from Romans 10, we’re reminded of the impact and the importance of declaring the word about Christ. As Paul writes: Rom 10:17 Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. Not only that, but Paul asks a series of rhetorical questions: How can people call on the God they don’t believe in? How can they believe in the God they’ve never heard of? How can they hear about God if no one tells them about God? So, Paul tells us, it is mission critical for people to bring good news to all people. At this time in Rome, this was becoming an increasingly dangerous mission. These believers had all the reasons you and I have to be intimidated and more. 

Around 49 A.D., the Roman Emperor Claudius expelled all the Jews from Rome. A Roman historian, Suetonius, who recorded summaries of the reigns of many Roman emperors said Claudius’ reason for this decree was the instigation of Chrestus. Chrestus is likely a misspelling of Christus, the Greek word for Christ or the Anointed One. That fits the history of the book of Acts and Paul’s missionary work. Everywhere Paul took the Gospel there were Jewish leaders who were looking to start a fight and kick Paul out of town.  

When this letter, Romans, arrived in the city, Claudius had died and his edict was no longer in effect. His adopted son, Nero, eventually succeeded him. Nero’s mistress, who became his 2nd wife, was deeply sympathetic towards the Jews and had her husband's ear. Within 10 years, after the great fire of Rome, Nero blamed the Christians and they infamously became public enemy #1. 

Paul didn’t know all this would happen. But it’s not hard to see some of it coming. And God certainly knew it all. As the Romans read this letter, they knew the pressure to declare with their mouths that Caesar is Lord was mounting. They faced strong intimidation to keep their faith private and personal. At this time Rome was an increasingly dangerous place to be a publicly professing Christian. 

This is why he assures them Anyone who believes in Jesus will never be put to shame. The one who relies on Christ will not be stricken with panic. The Lord Jesus will bless all who call on him with eternal life and salvation. 

Of course, this, too, hinges on faith. Confidence in what God has told us to hope for. Assurance about things we do not see or feel right now. You see, when Paul says that faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the Word about Christ, he does not only mean the genesis of faith. 

When our faith is weak, weary, worried, or wondering what’s next, we need to hear the same message. We need to listen well to the word about Christ. 

And what has he told us? Jn 16:33 In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart. I have overcome the world. Jesus goes on to say: Jn 17:15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world, but protect them from the evil one. Jn 17:20 I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message. 

Jesus did not want us to be surprised when the world violently rejects the word about Christ and attacks those who proclaim it. Don’t forget that is how the world treated him. Knowing this, he used his words to fight for us. And for those who will hear us. The Word made flesh used his words to sanctify & strengthen us. Jesus wants us to be confident in his power. His Word is powerful. The Word about Christ has the power to forgive sins, to bring to faith, and to bring new life. It has the power to empower us to shamelessly proclaim the good news. 

You know that Word, already. The good news isn’t complicated. It centers on Christ. Jesus is the culmination of the law. He lived righteously like no one before or after. Every thought. Every word. Every deed. Every moment. 

The only truly good man in the history of the world was treated as the worst of sinners. As he died he was abused by his fellow man and abandoned by his Father. This is the punishment all sinners, all of us, deserve. He mercifully took our place. Then three days later, he powerfully rose again, just as he promised. His resurrection offers peace and hope. 

Because after reaching the finish line, after paying the price for all our sins, guilt, and shame on the cross, he gifted us his victor’s crown. God gave us more than a gold medal. Jesus gifts his perfect, spotless record to all who call on him, to all who believe in him. He does not demand that any reform their lives first. He does not expect that we will never trip up again. He richly blesses all who call on him, no matter how they have fallen.

This is the good news—the message of Christ crucified. This is what you have heard and believe in your heart and so are saved. This is who you call upon in the day of trouble. 

Jesus is why you will never be put to shame. Even when you proclaim the Gospel. Because Jesus has not given you 2 Tim. 1:7 a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline. In the Gospel, you have power that makes the devil cower. In the Gospel, you have the love that God has for the world. In the Gospel, you have personal assurance that Jesus loves you and dwells in you and will deliver you in the day of trouble. In the Gospel, you have the promise that no matter what happens around you or to you, Jesus is the same and he will be with you always. In the Gospel, you have the power of God that brings salvation to all who believe and no reason to be ashamed. 

And because you have all those things, in the Gospel, you also have beautiful feet. Which is a weird enough thing to say in English. But how Paul says it here, in Greek, is even more strange. 

There are many ways to talk about beauty in the Greek language. But the most popular way of expressing beauty is the word καλός. This is where we get the word calligraphy from, which means beautiful writing. But here it's ὡραῖος which is where we get our English word for hour, a measurement of time. Strange, right? 

But it shouldn’t be. Not if you give it some time and think about it. Good news is all about timing. How many times have you been frustrated because you got a coupon for somewhere right after you already made a purchase? Timing matters. The power of good news isn’t about the manner or the mode or the messenger. It’s about timing. 

And God is perfect at that. When the set time had fully come, he sent his Son to redeem sinners. When God sets the time, he brings us to people who need the good news. Maybe, at that time, they will hear it and they will believe in their hearts that Jesus is their risen and living Lord and then they will profess that faith for us to hear. What a pleasure! What a privilege! 

It doesn’t always happen at that very moment. Maybe we are planting seeds for a harvest of righteousness that another will reap.  Maybe that person will never believe our message. That’s not up to us. What God has placed in our hearts and in our mouths is a powerful message. Christ has lived, died, and rose from death so that you might be saved from your sins. And no message is more important or impactful. Amen.