Sermon Tone Analysis

Let me begin with a question.

Do you ever share your faith with others?

When is the last time that you told someone about your faith in Jesus Christ?

And if not, why haven’t you or why don’t you?

Christianity Today recently conducted a poll of it’s readers and asked them some questions about evangelism.

And when the readers were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with some key statements people were unanimous on two statements that seemed to be true for everyone.

1. 89% supported this statement.

“I believe that faith in Christ is the only way to salvation.”

2. 87% agreed with this.

“Every Christian is responsible for evangelism.”

So it seems like most Christians are in agreement on those two points.

That Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven and that every Christian is responsible for evangelism.

But then there is the breakdown.

What we believe and accomplishing it seem to be two different things.

As this poll went on, 68% said they believed it was very important for Christians to lead non-Christians to faith in Christ.

52% said they had been more active in telling others about Christ in the past year than before.

And when asked what some of the obstacles were to sharing their faith 49% said, “It is a feeling that I am not able to do evangelism as well as the professionals.”

And then 43% said they were too timid.

40% were afraid of how people would respond.

I don’t know if any of those reactions represent how you feel.

It may be that you believe in evangelism.

That you think it is important.

You think it is a responsibility of every Christian.

And if you don’t think it you ought to because the Bible clearly teaches it.

But then there may that difficulty of getting over that hurdle of sharing your faith.

Is it because you feel you are timid?

Is it because you are afraid that people will not respond?

I am going to address these questions in a future message.

Actually a series that I will do on evangelism.

But I want to go a little deeper today and share with you what I think is a missing ingredient in all of these conclusions that this poll uncovered.

I would suggest to you it is usually the missing ingredient in any person’s life as to why they will not share their faith.

It is clear from the verses we are going to read before us that the apostle Paul had this missing ingredient.

He had it in spades.

Romans 9, looking at verses 1 through 3, Paul says, “I tell you the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart.

For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh.”

Paul had something that is essential for effective evangelism.

In fact, if one is lacking this quality that Paul had everything else is really of no consequence.

Paul had a God given burden for those that did not know Jesus Christ.

He cared.

It burned inside of him.

In his case it was for his own kinsmen, the Jews.

Do you have a God given burden for those who do not know Jesus Christ?

And if you don’t do you want one?

Be careful.

If you pray that God will give you this burden, you may be surprised how quickly He answers you and the results could be life changing.

Do you really want a God given burden for those who do not know Jesus Christ?

I remember reading that General William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army that he wished if he had his way that as part of the final training of those that were going into the work of evangelism that he could dangle them over hell for 24 hours.

You say, “That would be a lot of fun.”

No actually it wouldn’t be.

The reason that Booth wished he could do such a thing was not so that people he would be dangling would fear it for themselves because they had that hope they would go to heaven.

But so they could see the reality of awaits those who do not know Jesus Christ.

As we move to chapter 9, we are gripped by the apparent change in the flow of what is Paul is saying.

It is almost as though he is going from joy to sorrow.

On one hand he has been glorying in the fact that nothing will separate us from the love of Christ, neither height nor depth, nor or any other created thing, principalities or powers, or things present nor things to come, and so forth.

He is just speaking of God’s love for us and how strong it is, and then dramatically without any warning he goes into this description of his sorrow and anguish for those who do not yet know his Savior.

It almost seems like a different person picked up the pen and began to write.

But it wasn’t a different person at all.

Nor was it a break in what was being said.

If you really stop and think about it, it is a flow and continuity.

Paul has just spoken of God’s love for him and how it affected him personally.

But now he is showing how that same love transfers to others.

That it’s not enough to just know that God loves me and that He is doing all of these things for me as I have learned in the first eight chapters of Romans.

Now I have seen as a result of that I have a responsibility to others.

Those outside the church.

Those outside the faith.

And if God’s love is really working in my life, it should cause me to do something for Him.

So Paul speaks of his love and burning passion for those that did not know the Lord.

I think it’s here so we don’t become overly obsessed with our own struggles and our own spiritual quest and growth that we forget that there are people that need to know God.

I think he makes an amazing statement here when he says in essence, “If it were possible, I would give up my hope of eternal life so that others who do not know could come to faith.”

That’s a pretty dramatic statement.

How many of us would wish ourselves a place in hell that someone else might have a place in heaven.

I don’t know about you, but quite honestly I could not make such a statement at this particular moment in my life.

Maybe some of you could.

Would I give up my place in heaven so someone else could go there?

Or would I go to hell so someone could go to heaven?

No.

I would like to say I would.

I would like to hope that God could change my heart to have such a passion.

But that is really commitment.

Paul isn’t the only one who had this kind of a burden.

Moses in the Old Testament had that same kind of a heart.

The heart of an intercessor toward his people.

You remember that Moses had gone to Mount Sinai to receive the commandments of God.

Coming down from the mountain instead of finding the people waiting with anticipation as to what the message of God would be, he found them before the image of a golden calf naked, dancing, worshiping this false God.

He threw the commandments down in disgust and just about had had it with this group of people.

But going back up to the mountain to speak with the Lord again, the Lord was speaking about the guilt of the people.

And Moses interrupted Him with a cry of prayer and said, “Lord, why does your wrath grow hot against your people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand?”

In other words he was saying, “Lord, why are you mad at your people whom you brought out?

This was your idea Lord.

These are your people.”

God said to Moses, “They are your people.”

Moses said to God, “They are your people.”

Nobody wanted them at this moment.

Naked and dancing before the golden calf.

Who wants them?

Sort of like two parents arguing when a child has crossed the line.

“Your son has been disobedient again.”

You reply, “No, no, he is your son.”

Now in righteous indignation Moses had broken those tablets.

And he was now speaking to the Lord and it was going back and forth.