20260726 Romans 12:14-21 Evangelism the Bible Way: Heart to Heart Combat
The Book of Romans • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Let us continue to worship God
OT Reading
1 God be gracious to us and bless us, And cause His face to shine upon us— Selah. 2 That Your way may be known on the earth, Your salvation among all nations.
NT Reading
20 “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Let’s bow in prayer
Introduction: Romans 12:14-21 Evangelism the Bible Way: Heart to Heart Combat
Which book in the Bible would you call the most evangelistic book?
Jonah? The Gospel of John? I’m convinced it is the Book of Romans
The Romans Road
As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one.”
Romans 3:10
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Romans 3:23
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
Romans 5:1
“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8
“Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!”
Romans 5:9
“When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.”
Romans 5:12
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 6:23
“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Romans 10:9
“For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with mouth that you profess your faith and are saved."
Romans 10:10
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Romans 10:13
The evangelistic/missionary mindset of Romans
11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes upon Him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him, 13 for “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
14 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? 15 And how will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who proclaim good news of good things!”
Three principles of evangelism in the Book of Romans
(1) Two things can be true at the same time
In Romans Paul shows us that the Bible teaches the sovereignty of God in divine election and the absolute necessity of the church to preach the gospel to all nations and for all believers to share the gospel to everyone they meet
It’s funny that there are those who malign Reform theology as accuse it of teaching no evangleism when the purpose of the reformation was to reclaim a biblical return to gospel preaching and that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
(2) You are uniquely empowered to participate in the Great Commission
4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another, 6 but having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us:
Not only does God the Holy Spirit save us, He also empowers us
And so when we come to the realization that we are saved to worship and evangelism is one of the truest forms of worship we have to say to ourselves:
If I truly love God I will want to tell others about the God who was born of a virgin, died, rose from the dead, and ascended to heaven until He returns in His glory
(3) The Christian life is spent on a battlefield and not a playground
AW Tozer
“The idea that this world is a playground instead of a battleground has now been accepted in practice by the vast majority of Christians.”
If we are in a battle you have to ask yourself, how should I then live?
Think of it this way:
Holy hand grenades versus heart to heart combat
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless, and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep, 16 by being of the same mind toward one another, not being haughty in mind, but associating with the humble. Do not be wise in your own mind. 17 Never paying back evil for evil to anyone, respecting what is good in the sight of all men, 18 if possible, so far as it depends on you, being at peace with all men, 19 never taking your own revenge, beloved—instead leave room for the wrath of God. For it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
The action verbs of evangelism in Romans 12
Bless
Rejoice and weep
Not haughty but humble
Not paying back
Being at peace
Not devising plans for revenge
Heaping blessing
Overcoming
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may approve what the will of God is, that which is good and pleasing and perfect.
All of this goes back to Romans 12:2, not conformed to this world, but having an eternal perspective
We don’t bless our enemies, we scheme and devise and gossip
We don’t get mad, we get even
And we certainly don’t love our enemies, oh wait
Didn’t Jesus also say Father forgive them?
Paul has just shown us what evangelistic, eternity minded evangelsim looks like
Paul has listed the spiritual gifts in Romans 12 and notice that he does not refer to something called the gift of evangelism because we are all to have a role in evangelism
Paul calls all of us to the participate in the preaching of the gospel
My father died in February of 1980 when I was 19
6 years later a little old lady approached me at a Gideons conference and told me about my father and Dairy Queen
The Bible my father gave me just before he died in a car accident
Long ago a little old lady gave my father a Bible and instead of throwing it away, my father gave it to me and through it my heart was opened to Christ
May we all seek to live with eternity in mind, may we all realize that we are indwelt and empowered by the Spirit, may we all be devoted to prayer, and may we all pray, Lord help me to share what Christ has done with those around me
May the companionship of the man of sorrows and the power of the King of glory rest upon you this day and all your days. Amen.
