Looking Ahead to Christ

Romans 15:14 – 16:27

Looking ahead! I like looking ahead and imagining how things might be tomorrow, or next year, or in twenty years. Teachers sometimes would catch me in my dreamy state of mind and scold me for not paying attention in class. Looking ahead always leaves a question mark in my mind, though. “How will things be in the future? Where will I be? What will I be doing? How will I feel? Who will I know? When will I retire? Why can’t I know?” The answer to these questions seems so conditional. Whatever we might see ahead of us, it is all a matter of “IF”. If I live. If this or that happens.

Do you also have those times when you find yourself looking ahead, trying to figure out the who, what, when, where, and why of your future? My guess would be that everyone has. Some of you might have even been looking ahead to the end of these sermons on Romans. Well, the end of this study has come. This past Wednesday we completed our Romans study. And as we think about the end of one thing, it is only humanly natural that we start looking ahead to what’s next.

Looking ahead I believe is something God Himself has given us. The Scriptures even bear witness that hope is based on what lay ahead. The prophets of old, and even the angels of heaven, are described as looking ahead to something really important. They were looking ahead to Christ, and to what His coming would mean.

But, with God as there focal point, the “IF” of the future is taken away. In Christ there is a certainty about the future that delights the human heart, frees the human soul, and lifts the human spirit into glory. There is nothing more certain than God and His Word. So, whenever we undertake a study of that Word, we awaken in ourselves all these neat spiritual things.

This is why Paul can with great confidence say to Christians that he hardly knows: “I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.”

This goodness and knowledge and competence comes from the Spirit of God who gives life to the Word in human flesh; our flesh. Like the apostle Paul, this life fills us with intent on fulfilling our ministry. And what is our ministry?

For Paul, looking ahead to Christ was looking ahead to a visit to Rome on his way to evangelize Spain. To him evangelism is much more than simply inviting someone to church. Evangelism is much more than simply saying I believe in Jesus Christ. Evangelism is the touching of human hearts with the very person and work of Jesus Christ. And that happens wherever the message of Christ is proclaimed.

Who might you visit with the goodness, knowledge and competence of God in the message of Jesus Christ? A neighbor, an old friend, a family member, a total stranger. Looking ahead to Christ, where is the Spirit of God directing us? You will know because it will be on your mind and in your heart.

If there is any doubt among us about our being called to this kind of service, just look around you. There is not one soul here whom God has not called by the Gospel and enlightened with his gifts by the Holy Spirit. Every one of us has heard the message of Christ from someone else. The parents who bring their baby to the font of grace. The grandparent who brings their grandchild to worship. The teacher who speaks the message in Sunday School. The children who are touched with the love of Jesus in Word and deed. We have all one thing in common. We have the Spirit of God bringing life and salvation to us.

Is it any wonder that Paul is able to send so many personal greetings to God’s servants in Rome. Looking ahead to Christ, he sees their goodness, competence and knowledge in Christ. And that’s the way it is for us.

But, it seems there will always be those who put obstacles in the way of faith and trust in God. Claiming to be Christian some do not serve our Lord Christ. Instead, it is their own desire for attention and control that motivates them to divide God’s flock. Through flattering speech and false teaching they spread their false religious message. Such people, Paul warns us, are recognized by what they teach. And those who have the goodness and knowledge and competence of God’s Word are indeed able to recognize them. It is God’s peace that works to crush these Satanic influences under the very feet of those fitted with the readiness that comes from the Gospel message of Jesus Christ.

No wonder Paul concludes his letter with praise to God. It is God Himself who is able to establish and keep His Church safe through the preaching of the message of Paul.

My friends, this is what Bible study is all about. It’s about the message of Christ. It’s about growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It’s about looking ahead to Christ. It’s about the certainty of salvation for all mankind, in Christ. Amen.