Obeying the Gospel

Today at Calvary Chapel Sydney I taught through Romans 10.  After Paul emphasised God's election of believers by grace through the Gospel, I enjoyed considering the emphasis on man's responsibility to believe in Jesus Christ.  Paul wrote in Romans 10:14-15:  "How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? ¹⁵ And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!"  In teachings of this passage I have heard many emphasis our need to go, a missional thrust of application.  The flow of the passage in context, however, shows God is the One who faithfully sends His messengers to bring the message of salvation through the Gospel so people can hear and believe in Christ.

Paul continued in Romans 10:16-18:  "But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our report?" ¹⁷ So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. ¹⁸ But I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed: "Their sound has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world."  Paul spoke of the message of the Gospel having gone out to all the earth!  People heard the Gospel but did not obey it by submitting themselves to Jesus as Saviour.  God's will is the save people, He provided salvation through Jesus, and sent the Good News through the whole world.  The only way people exercise saving faith is by hearing and believing the word of God He has graciously provided for us.

When I was a kid and within Christendom to this day, there are efforts being made to reach people who are unreached with the Gospel--often in lands and languages foreign to us.  I applaud these efforts and praise God He has continued to send people to far away places to people He loves and desires to save.  Let us not forget that to every Christian couple who have a baby, that little one does not know God.  There are hundreds and thousands of babies born every day in our cities and nations who have never heard the name of Jesus except as an expletive.  This work of spreading the Gospel to every person needs to be done again after it has already been done, for the population of the earth continues to multiply.  Praise the LORD this is His work to accomplish His plans to save, and He is the One who sends us.  It is not a church or a mission board who does the sending, though at times they are His instrument, but God sends forth labourers into His harvest.  As we have received the Gospel and believed it, so we should obey it and share it with all:  to love one another as Jesus loves us.