The Importance of the Calling
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What is the most important job in today’s world? Some people say that being a doctor is the most important job, others say that school teachers are more important. Still other jobs that frequently make the list are police officers, firefighters, nurses, and engineers. But I think that when people give these kinds of answers they’re being too short-sighted. Because while all of those jobs are crucial for maintaining society and staying physically healthy, they do not address our more important need: maintaining our spiritual health. I don’t mean to say that being a preacher is the most important job, or that I’m doing something more important than you. Because even being a preacher is not the most important job. Instead, the most important thing that you can be is a Christian. What makes being a Christian the most important thing? In the early years of Christianity, when Christians were persecuted by the Jewish authorities and the Roman Empire, Christians were forced to scatter. And when they did they brought their faith with them, they didn’t leave it in their former homes. This caused Christianity to spread very quickly. It wasn’t the specially trained preachers and teachers who did most of the evangelizing, it was the every-day Christian who, though they were being persecuted for their faith, had enough courage to tell the world who Christ is. It was expected that if you were a Christian you would share your faith; you would not stay silent about it. This is why being a Christian is the most important thing you could be.
Without the bold faith of the Christians who came before us, we wouldn’t know who God is. We wouldn’t have any idea about the love that Christ has for us nor the work that He has accomplished. This is why it is so important that we all be prepared to share our faith. The most effective witnesses of the Gospel aren’t the people behind the podiums, it isn’t the people who write books; it’s the friends, families, neighbors, and co-workers of the one who doesn’t know who Christ is. 1 Peter 3:15-16 says,
but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.
All of us are not only just expected to be able to spread the Gospel, but are commanded to. Because if even just one Christian opts out of the kingdom work of God, none of us live up to our full potential as the body of Christ. Each part of the body must work in the way that they were intended to, otherwise we will always be missing something, there will always be someone who has not heard of who Christ is.
Today, I will talk about how our spreading of the Gospel of Christ is crucial, how it is the most important thing that we can do. Not for our own sakes, as if to work our way to salvation, but for the sakes of the lost souls in the world who have not heard the Good News.
How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”
However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
Paul is clear: faith takes place not before, but after someone has proclaimed the Gospel of Christ. You cannot believe in something and you cannot know someone before you are told.
In the first two verses of this passage, Paul outlines an obvious timeline for faith, and it begins with someone being sent. The word for “sent” is the same Greek word used to describe Jesus’ twelve disciples and Paul: apostle. The word in this context really just means “commissioned representative.” Someone who is sent as a messenger to tell the world of the great message; the good news of Jesus Christ. These sent messengers are not the elite, they are not the educated; they are all Christians everywhere. From the person who’s been attending church since childhood to the one who was just baptized. Everyone who calls themselves a Christian, everyone who believes in the name of Jesus Christ, is the messenger that God has sent out into the world to tell of His Son.
Jesus makes this clear in Matthew 28:18-20
And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Jesus sends all of us out into the world. This is our duty, this is our responsibility, this is our life. We have to be willing to spread the Gospel, we have to be bold, we have to share our faith. This is so important that Matthew chooses to end his gospel with this command, it’s the last thing that he wants to tell us: that we have been sent into the world.
As messengers sent into the world, we come with a message. This message is something that we must always have on our hearts and tongues. It must never be too far from our thoughts. It must be lived out so fully that it’s obviously a part of who we are.
When we share our message we should be aiming to change the hearts and lives of those whom we speak to. This is difficult though, because people don’t want to listen to things that contradict how they live, so we must present this message in a way that is undeniably from God. This does not mean changing the message, it simply means that if someone is busy defending themselves from our attacks, they will never truly hear the Gospel of Peace. As it says in 1 Peter 3:15, we must give an account of what we believe with “gentleness and reverence.” Because is in this hearing that belief can begin to form.
There’s something special about true belief. It never stays purely in the intellectual realm. True belief moves beyond our thoughts and into our actions. True belief transforms us and shapes and forces us to change our way of living. This is the kind of belief that can follow after hearing the Gospel message.
And it is only through this kind of belief that, as Joel 2:32 says,
“And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord
Will be delivered;
For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
There will be those who escape,
As the Lord has said,
Even among the survivors whom the Lord calls.
Those who believe in God will call on His name and they will be saved in the last judgment, they will not have to fear condemnation.
But you have to remember, this kind of faith does not happen on its own. It starts by us all understanding that anyone who is a Christian is called to be a messenger to the world, that we must proclaim His Gospel to all nations, and that we need all to hear us. Because it is only when these things are done that we will start to see belief take hold, the kind of belief that causes salvation.
This command is not also given without a blessing. As Paul says in the last half of verse 15 Romans 10:15
“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”
This is a quotation taken from Isaiah 52:7, which reads,
How lovely on the mountains
Are the feet of him who brings good news,
Who announces peace
And brings good news of happiness,
Who announces salvation,
And says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”
The next couple of verses following say,
Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices,
They shout joyfully together;
For they will see with their own eyes
When the Lord restores Zion.
Break forth, shout joyfully together,
You waste places of Jerusalem;
For the Lord has comforted His people,
He has redeemed Jerusalem.
The Lord has bared His holy arm
In the sight of all the nations,
That all the ends of the earth may see
The salvation of our God.
Depart, depart, go out from there,
Touch nothing unclean;
Go out of the midst of her, purify yourselves,
You who carry the vessels of the Lord.
But you will not go out in haste,
Nor will you go as fugitives;
For the Lord will go before you,
And the God of Israel will be your rear guard.
This passage in Isaiah is a celebration of God’s sovereignty and blessings. It speaks of God redeeming, protection, and claiming His people against the dark forces of the world; it speaks of how God will provide salvation to those who believe in Him. This is something that we should celebrate! We should be so joyful that we have such good news to share with other people. This is not a heavy burden but a great blessing. This isn’t something that we should do begrudgingly, but we should do it with such joy so that those who hear us know that it’s true. How appropriate that Paul would quote this!
But despite how blessed this message is, not everyone will believe it. The next part of Romans, Romans 10:16 says,
However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?”
We are commissioned to take the Gospel to everyone, to every corner of the world, and I sincerely hope that we do. But understand this, not every place you take the Gospel will want to receive the Gospel. Not every person you tell about Jesus will believe in Him, in fact, they might even persecute you. But that does not mean you should stop spreading the Gospel.
Jesus says in Matthew 5:10-12,
“Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
At the end of this long list of characteristics that true followers of God have, Jesus begins speaking about those who are persecuted because they were righteous and held to God. What’s interesting is that Jesus tells us who else was persecuted. He says “the prophets who were before you” were persecuted.
God’s messengers are not always warmly received. In fact, they are persecuted more than they are accepted. But do not use this as an excuse to avoid the ministry that God is calling you to. This persecution that we may face for being Christians is not something to be afraid of, in fact, we should rejoice in it, we should be glad in it. Because through it we will be blessed and we will build up for ourselves treasures in heaven, even if it comes at the cost of our treasures on earth.
Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
That verse may seem ominous and scary, but it’s not; it’s a comfort. Because we know that this earth is temporary and that our time on it will pass. And when we experience persecution from the world we know that we will receive our eternal reward.
When we proclaim the Gospel, unbelief may very well be the response. But we should proclaim it nonetheless. Because if we do not, then who will? Who but us Christians can speak the truth to someone?
It is written in Romans 10:17,
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
This is the reason that we proclaim the Gospel: it is the only way that faith can take hold. It is the most valuable thing that we can offer anyone and the most important thing that we can do. The word of Christ is everything. The message of what Christ has done is all that there is.
But what is this message? The message is this: that Jesus Christ is God, that He was born of a virgin birth, that He lived a perfect and sinless life, that He was unjustly convicted, that He was murdered on a cross willingly, and that He rose from the dead three days later. That He atoned for our sins and is sitting at the right hand of the Father right now, interceding on our behalf, so that when we get to the throne of God, we will not be judged for the evil that we have done, but instead will be forgiven because of the good that Jesus has done! Though we have sinned and fallen short, God is gracious and merciful and will forgive us of all our sins. This is the word of Christ and this is the message that we have to proclaim to the entire world!
So what has Paul told us in this passage? That we as Christians must accept our calling to be God’s sent messengers to the world, that we must proclaim His Gospel to everyone, and that we must make it heard. If we do not do these things there will not be faith and there will not be salvation.
A common question that adults often ask kids, and college students, is “what do you want to be when you grow up?” I think too often the answer of doctor, or soccer player, teacher are given. Because while those are important jobs and we need them, their importance pales in comparison to the task set before us. The most important thing that we can do is not work in a profession, but work to build the kingdom of God. The most important thing that we can do and be in this world is a Christian. There is nothing else of real value besides this.
Have you been living up the the calling which we have received? Have you been active in spreading your faith? I must confess that this is not something that I’m always very good at. But today, I want you to join me in rededicating ourselves to this great joy set before us: the evangelizing of the world. It won’t always be easy, but it will be the most important thing that you will ever do.
