1Brothers and sisters, with all my heart I long for the people of Israel to be saved. I pray to God for them. 2I can tell you for certain that they really want to serve God. But how they are trying to do it is not based on knowledge. 3They didn’t know that God’s power makes people right with himself. They tried to get right with God in their own way. They didn’t do it in God’s way. 4Christ has fulfilled everything the law was meant to do. So now everyone who believes can be right with God.
5Moses writes about how the law could help a person do what God requires. He writes, “The person who does these things will live by them.” (Leviticus 18:5) 6But the way to do what God requires must begin by having faith in him. Scripture says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will go up into heaven?’ ” (Deuteronomy 30:12) That means to go up into heaven and bring Christ down. 7“And do not say, ‘Who will go down into the grave?’ ” (Deuteronomy 30:13) That means to bring Christ up from the dead.
8But what does it say? “The message is near you. It’s in your mouth and in your heart.” (Deuteronomy 30:14) This means the message about faith that we are preaching. 9Say with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord.” Believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. Then you will be saved. 10With your heart you believe and are made right with God. With your mouth you say what you believe. And so you are saved. 11Scripture says, “The one who believes in him will never be put to shame.” (Isaiah 28:16) 12There is no difference between those who are Jews and those who are not. The same Lord is Lord of all. He richly blesses everyone who calls on him. 13Scripture says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Joel 2:32)
14How can they call on him unless they believe in him? How can they believe in him unless they hear about him? How can they hear about him unless someone preaches to them? 15And how can anyone preach without being sent? It is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Isaiah 52:7)
Recently, we read the Book of Romans. Then we read the Book of Isaiah. Both of these books are about God’s compassion for the world. In both of these books, people are sent as messengers to bring the message of salvation. Paul quotes from the book of Isaiah twice during in these verses.
Both these books are talking about God. They are talking what it means to know God. Evangelism is not only something that we do, it is an expression of God’s love for us and our love for God and other people. When we tell people the good news, we are working along with God and sharing his compassion for human beings.
We will divide this talk into three sections. The heart of Christ, the message of Christ, the feet of Christ.
Paul’s prayer comes from the heart. That is, he really and deeply cares about the Israelites. And he knows that they aren’t saved. So he prays. Let’s have a look at those three things. That deep compassion comes from God himself. Everything we do in evangelism is based on our love and compassion for people. The main reason that we do not tell people the good news is because we do not think it is worthwhile. If we truly loved people and understood the message of Christ, we would naturally tell people the gospel. I live in a vicarage, a priest’s house. The church for my house is a mosque. People come by and say ‘isn’t it terrible what they’ve done.’ A co-worker once asked me ‘doesn’t bother what they’re doing to your country?’ But Paul has been beaten, stoned, and left for dead by and because of the Jews. Yet his heart overflowed with deep love and compassion, just as Christ loved us when were not worthy of that love. Paul, however is under no illusions. The Jews are not saved. They face a terrible future without Christ, facing the day of judgement with only their religion and their own defective works. Paul knows the futility of their works, based though they are on the law of God. Perhaps our friends are different. Perhaps they are unsure about the Christian message, even though they seem to be good people. Paul did not shrink away from truth. Finally, he turned to prayer. This is very interesting, given that he has already told us that salvation is God’s sovereign choice. Paul is walking with Jesus, sharing Jesus’ heart, turning to Jesus. Our mission is not just being for Jesus. It’s about being with Jesus.
Think for a moment about your friends. Think for a moment about your family. Even think for a moment about this whole city. It is a city of 2.5 million people. Most of them do not understand the message of Christ. I know some people who are very intelligent and have a lot of contact with Christians. They do not understand or accept the message of Christ. God wants us to have compassion on those people. He wants us to understand their situation. How do we feel people who are not saved? How can those feelings change?
The message is simple. It is the message about Christ. It is not about religion, not about Islam, not about Hinduism, not about Sikhism. It’s about Christ. That message has power in and of itself. Our goal is to help you and the whole church of Christ proclaim the message. It saved us, and it saves everyone who has faith. Paul wanted to see people believing this message. He proclaimed the message, and expected the message to be believed. There is an interesting feature of the way Paul proclaimed his message. Even though he was sent to the Gentiles, he went to the synagogues. He went to the people who could hear and understand his message. Paul would not be distracted by anything else. He believed that the word of Christ was the only hope for the salvation of the world. It was, is, and will be that only hope.
It is so important that we understand the message about Jesus. We can use a simple plan like the four spiritual laws or the three circles. But we should understand the message for our lives. We should understand how much God loves us and how much he did for us. We should understand the cross of Jesus clearly.
Finally, Paul talks about the feet of Jesus. How can they believe if they have not heard? How can they hear unless someone tells them, and how will someone believe if they have not been sent. So, in every case, someone has to go. Paul went to extraordinary lengths to spread the message. He crossed seas, was nearly killed on the journey, and took extraordinary risks. He said ‘how beautiful are the feet of those who bring Good News. Because, when we are bringing the good news, we are walking with Jesus. Sometimes, in the rejection, and the shame. In the hostility and the pain.
There are many ways to go and tell people the good news. The most effective way is to tell your friends and family about the good news. There are other ways. For example in the English classes here in City Life Church, you can talk to the people you share a table with. When you invite people to something the church does, you are helping to spread the good news. Even when you smile and take time to talk to someone who is new, you are helping to spread the good news. You can spread the good news through your social media accounts. It is good to spend time with the team doing street outreach in the city centre, but most people will use their ordinary, everyday connections to spread the message. The main thing is that we need to understand the importance of going – of making a deliberate effort to spread the message.
In summary, we have the heart of Christ, the message of Christ and the feet of Christ. Now we will pray that God will give us the heart of Jesus, that we will understand his message and that we will make that effort to tell our friends.
