The Priority of Peace

Transcript

JRS 25
01/01/2023
The Priority of Peace
Selected Verses
Jesse Randolph

Alright, well, once again, a very happy new year to each and everyone of you. I hope you’re feeling somewhat rested. And I pray that the season that we’ve just come through, the season of Christmas, the season of Advent, the season of 13 below temperatures, has given you ample opportunity to worship, and reflect upon, and rejoice in, the babe in the manger, the eternal Son of God veiled in flesh, the King of Kings on His first visit to planet earth, on a search and rescue mission, coming to seek and save that which was lost.

Well, in one way, we’re going to be turning the page here this morning. But in another way, it’s going to be business as usual. When I say we’re turning the page, I mean we’re turning the page in the sense that the page on the calendar, of course, has turned from 22 to 23. It’s now a new year. It’s filled with hope, and filled with expectation, and filled with anticipation. And filled, no doubt, with many resolutions. But it’s also business as usual today. In the sense that life moves on, family activities move on, time moves on. And church business moves on, and sermon series, like this one, move on. And that’s what we’re doing today, we’re going to wrap up our “Peace on Earth” series.

Now, in case you hadn’t noticed, there’s not only been alliteration in this series, there’s been a progression. And there’s been an intentional progression on my part, as we’ve teased out and worked through this subject of peace, from multiple different angles over the past many weeks. In the first message, a few weeks ago, you’ll remember, we looked at future-oriented “Promise of Peace,” there in Isaiah 9:6, 7, written 750 years before the birth of our Lord. And that text, of course, says, “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” After that, we saw the “Proclamation of Peace” in Luke 2:8-14, as angels proclaimed to a group of lowly shepherds from Bethlehem that the long-promised Prince of Peace had arrived on the scene of history. And then last Saturday night, Christmas Eve, we spent some time looking at the “Provision of Peace,” from the book of Colossians [2:13, 14], where we saw that the Lord Jesus Christ has provided peace to His followers “through the blood of His cross,” [Colossians 1:20]. And then last Sunday morning, Christmas morning, we looked at the “Purpose of Peace.” And we did that by working our way through Romans 5:1-2, which says, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.” So, God promised peace through the Messiah who would one day come. God proclaimed peace through angels once that Messiah did come. God provided peace through the bloody cross of that Messiah. And there was a purpose to the peace God provided, justifying and reconciling sinners like us to Himself.

Now, today, as we’re about to see, the peace that we’ve been shown, the peace that we’ve been offered, the peace that we’ve been provided. The peace that we’ve been given does not give us license to throttle back, to throw it into neutral, to kick our feet up. No. If you are a recipient of the peace that we’ve been reflecting upon all Christmas season, meaning you’ve been justified, you’ve been saved, by placing your faith in Jesus Christ, there’s no better time than now as we enter this new year, to resolve now in 2023 and also for every year that the Lord gives you on this planet, to prioritize peace. And specifically to prioritize peace by proclaiming the message of peace, the only message of peace that this fallen and sin-cursed planet has ever known. That message being the gospel of grace, the gospel of peace, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

See, the point of this morning’s message is very simple and very straightforward. The appeal that I’ll be giving today, the charge that I’ll be giving today, the exhortation that I’ll be giving today, is that if you have not been faithful to share the gospel in past seasons of your Christian life, that is, if you have not been prioritizing and weaving into your life the message of peace, make this year the year that you pursue greater and greater faithfulness in this area of your walk with the Lord. Make this year that you resolve, not to lose weight, and not, you know, just become a better person, or to read more books. Make this year the year that you become a true winner of souls.

Now, there might be some in the room here, that are thinking, “Come on man, get back to the book of James already. I thought you were a verse-by-verse expositor. What’s with this appeal? What are we doing here?” Well, there are times where even the most committed biblical expositors will find it necessary to take on topics that their church needs to hear. And that’s where we are today. Taking a week, as we wrap up this “Peace on Earth” series, as we look ahead to resuming our studies in James and Hosea next week, to cover this critically important duty of the Christian to evangelize, to share their faith, to prioritize and to proclaim the message of peace. Peace between God and man, through the completed work of Christ on the cross.

Why, though? Why is this topic so important? Why is it so critical that we cover it now? Why am I taking time on a Sunday morning, this valuable pulpit time, to cover this topic? I’m going to give you three reasons why we’re doing this, this morning. First, evangelism, sharing our faith, sharing the gospel, is a core component of our mission as followers of Jesus Christ. In fact, the supreme task that Jesus Christ has given His followers here on earth, as part of His great commission in Matthew 28:19-20, is to “make disciples.” That’s the main verbal idea there, “matheteuo,” to make disciples. That’s the Lord’s chief command to His followers, that we, meaning you and I, “make disciples.” And He tells us, that we’re going to “make disciples” by going to all the people of all the nations. By baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. And by then, teaching them, instructing them, in all that Christ has commanded His followers.

Did you pick up the order there though? The first step in the process of making disciples. Without exception, with no qualification, is to “go”. Meaning, to reach the lost by sharing the good news of the gospel with them. We’re not called to share gift baskets, or well-wishes, or offers of humanitarian aid. We are not commanded to teach the lost morality. Or how to curry favor with a holy God. Or even to give them the Ten Commandments. No, we are commanded to share the gospel. One cannot be made a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ without first hearing the gospel message. And then responding to that gospel message by believing on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ as they come to Him in repentance and faith.

But there’s another side to that coin. Because, one cannot, not only can one not be a disciple without hearing the gospel, one cannot be a disciple-maker, that is one who makes disciples, without crossing that important threshold of sharing that one and only message of salvation with others. That message being the gospel of Jesus Christ. See, to fulfill your mission as a disciple-making Christian, which we are all called to be by the Lord Himself, you need to be fulfilling your responsibility to be an evangelistic Christian. That is, one who prioritizes peace. That’s one reason why we’re covering this, this morning. It’s central to the Lord’s command in the Great Commission.

Second reason why I’m addressing this subject from the pulpit today, this subject of evangelism, is that it’s an often overlooked aspect of life in Christ. And increasingly so, sadly. Consider some of this statistical evidence. In 1993, decades ago now, 30 years ago (seems so soon but it’s also so far away), in 1993, Barna, the evangelical research group, they asked a pool of professing Christians whether they agreed with the following statement. “Every Christian has a responsibility to share their faith.” That’s the question they threw out there or the statement they threw out there. The percentage of self-identified Christians who agreed with that statement in 1993 was 89%. So, 89% of self-identified Christians in 1993, 30 years ago, agreed that sharing their faith was something that all Christians are responsible to do, required to do. Of course, that means there was 11% who disagreed with that statement in some variety. Now, 25 years later, in 2018, which was still 5 years ago from now, that same statement was posed. And guess what happened? That number dropped substantially. As of 2018, only 64% of professed followers of Christ, would agree with the statement that “every Christian has a responsibility to share their faith.

Friends, that is absolutely tragic. And that is entirely unacceptable. Note how far that we have slipped, in just the past hundred years or so. You know, a hundred years ago, in the late 1800’s, early 1900’s, guys like Charles Spurgeon, were saying things like, “You have never truly found Jesus if you do not tell others about Him.” And people were flocking to hear teaching like that. And flocking to hear instruction like that. And why? Because they believed it. But now, a full one-third of so-called evangelical Christians say they don’t have an obligation to share the “evangel,” the euangelion, the good new of the gospel. And that is a sad and tragic indictment of evangelicalism’s decline over the past many decades.

But let’s get real for a minute. Because here’s a thought that worries me. What would be the response to that very statement, “Every Christian has a responsibility to share their faith”, if we posed it at our church here this morning? If I called every one of you up here and had you kind of cycle through and give your answer with a yes or a no, a thumbs up or a thumbs down, would the number of participants who agreed with that statement be higher than 64%? Would it be higher than 75%? Would it be higher than 95%? I would certainly hope so.

But here’s the thought that really worries me. How many of us in this room are actually sharing the gospel? Not only be willing to give a canned answer to a survey, but are actually willing to share the gospel as a part of our life, and as a part of our practice as followers of Christ? How many here can credibly call ourselves evangelists? How many here can say with straight face that we are soul-winners? How many of us here are prioritizing the message of peace?

A third reason why I’m covering this subject from the pulpit today is that the time to be sharing the gospel is right now. Can you think of a better time for the people of God to be sharing with this community the gospel message? I mean, not only is the Lord’s return more imminent today than it was yesterday, but face it, over the past several years, we have lived in some very turbulent times. And people all over the world are worried and looking for answers. And they’re looking for answers about the future. You know, what’s in store for our families? And our parents? And our children? And our jobs? And our pocketbooks? And our bottom lines? And our nation? And our health? But the solutions that people are seeking for those questions, and for those problems and those worries and those anxieties, are things like substances and sex and secular wisdom, and increasingly, suicide. Well, those won’t, of course, in the end solve their problems, their ultimate problem; that problem being that without Christ they are positionally separated from a holy God. In the words of Isaiah 59:2, their “iniquities have made a separation between [them] and [their] God, and [their] sins have hidden His face from [them] so that He does not hear.” They are dead in their sins, Ephesians 2:1 would say. They stand condemned in their sin, and “the wages of sin,” Romans 6:23 says, “is death.” Their problem is, that apart from a divine work of regeneration brought about and initiated by the God that they currently stand in opposition to, they will die in their present status of condemnation, and spend eternity and not one day less in the unceasing and billowing flames of a real and eternal hell. You know, Jesus said in John 4:35, that the fields are “white for harvest.” The fields are white indeed.

All that to say, what I’ve been praying about this week is that today’s message would move the needle here among us in this room. So that we would all become better equipped to become more faithful evangelists, to go out there into the fields of Lincoln, Nebraska and beyond. And proclaim the message of peace through the Prince of Peace. To win the lost for Christ through His saving gospel, so that many would have their ticket to hell, re-punched and re-routed to heaven.

Alright, well, as we launch into the substance of today’s message, I’m going to let you know on the front end what I’m going to be doing here is challenging everyone to think carefully and honestly and prayerfully, about where we are individually as peace proclaimers, as soul-winners, as evangelists. What are our vital signs evangelistically speaking? You know how when you go into the doctor’s office for a physical exam, they’re going to test your reflexes, and they’re going to test your pulse, and they’re going to look at your vital organs and systems and make sure everything’s working properly. That’s sort of like what we’ll be doing here this morning. Running some tests. Looking at your chart, so to speak, to gauge your health, your spiritual health specifically, to determine whether you truly are an evangelistically-minded Christian. I don’t have a stethoscope, but I do have the scripture, and that’s what’s going to do the work this morning.

Alright, we have a three-point sermon. Of course, it’s all alliterated (I have to do it). Our three points this morning, if you’re a note-taker… Actually, I’m just going to give you one right now. I’m going to make you wait for 2 and 3.

Point #1, “Check Your Heart,” “Check Your Heart.” According to the most recent statistics I was able to find (and I’m a new guy so this could be off by just a little bit) the current population of our city, Lincoln, Nebraska, is 291,082 people. That doesn’t count the various folks who live all around, the surrounding cities and unincorporated areas just outside of Lincoln. But that number, 291,082, that ought to jolt us. That ought to awaken us. That ought to provoke something in us. That ought to do something in us. Because, what that number, 291,082 represents are people who wake up each and every morning, just like you and I do. And people who go to sleep at night, just like you and I do. And people who get dressed, and brush their teeth, and eat and drink, and put their pants on one leg at a time, just like you and I do. And people who experience life’s joys, just like you and I do. And people who experience life’s various worries and frustrations, just like you and I do. But the people who live here in Lincoln and the surrounding cities, are not mere composition of bone and flesh. Rather, they represent nearly three-hundred thousand souls. And every single one of them faces this reality without fail, that assuming the Rapture doesn’t happen first, when they die they’re going to cross that threshold into eternity. And as they cross that threshold their body will go into the ground, feeding worms and fertilizing flowers, but their soul will go on. And their soul won’t go to purgatory. Their soul won’t float around on clouds. Their soul won’t experience nirvana. Instead, their soul will go to one of two places, heaven or hell.

Let’s talk a little bit about heaven. Heaven is the throne of God, God’s fixed abode, the Lord’s eternal dwelling place. The place where all who have trusted in Christ will dwell with Him, at least until our coming day of resurrection. Now, to get a sense of what heaven is like, and the glories that await those who are going there, I don’t want you to think about heaven the way popular culture portrays heaven. You know, I don’t want you to think about clouds and Cupid. I don’t want you to think about what ever, Jesus’ junk gets peddled online or in Christian bookstores or in really bad sermons. Instead, I want you to think of the way the bible describes heaven. In fact, why don’t you turn with me to Revelation 4, Revelation 4. By the way, I don’t have an anchor text this morning. We’re going to be going all over the scriptures, to drive home the main point today, so get ready to turn a lot. Revelation 4, and we’re going to start in verse 1.

And in fact, I think we’ll just read the whole chapter. It says, “After these things,” these are the words of the apostle John, “I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.’ Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads. Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God; and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. The first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.’ And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, ‘Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.’ ”

If that doesn’t get you excited about what’s to come, I honestly don’t know what would. See, what makes heaven “heaven” is the presence of the Lord. It’s not about seeing relatives ultimately. It’s not about seeing friends. It’s not about seeing the apostle John or your favorite dead theologian, or your grandmother, or your parents, or your Christian camp counselor. Instead, it’s about being in the presence of God, and beholding His glory and worshiping Him around this magnificent throne. And putting it directly, if you’re not thinking thoughts like these about heaven, you’re thoughts of heaven are simply too low.

What about hell? What is hell? Well, hell is a literal place. It’s not popular teaching these days among certain churches, but it is a literal place. It’s a place for those who have not trusted in Jesus Christ for salvation will spend eternity. A place for those who reject Christ will face eternal, conscious torment. And the scriptures teach quite plainly, that there are three things going on in hell. Darkness, Matthew 8:12 and Matthew 25:30. Fire, Matthew 25:41, 46. And chains, 2 Peter 2:4. Experiencing any one of those sounds awful. Experiencing all three of those sounds unbearable. And those things, darkness, and fire, and chains, will not only last for a just a season, but forever, eternally. Jude 7 speaks of the punishment of eternal fire. 2 Thessalonians 1:9 speaks of the ungodly who will pay the penalty of eternal destruction. Those who end up in hell, won’t be eventually annihilated or snuffed out. They won’t experience soul sleep, or lose consciousness, or otherwise, in some way, avoid the pains of hell. No, they will experience the fires of hell for eternity. Thomas Brooks described the eternality of hell this way; he said, “The damned shall live as long in hell as God Himself shall live in heaven.”
And as believers who seek to grow in faithfulness in sharing the message of the gospel, we can neither minimize those terrors of hell, nor should we sell short the glories of heaven.

Another thing we need to be absolutely clear about is that the one factor that will determine whether a person will experience the bliss and glories of heaven, or instead, suffer through those horrors of hell, is whether they have turned from their sin in repentance and faith and put their faith exclusively in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. And if you’re here this morning, and you have genuinely trusted in Christ for salvation, praise the Lord! Your salvation is secure. You have no fear of hell. As the hymn says, “No pow’r of hell, no scheme of man, can ever pluck me from His hand.” Praise the Lord! That means you have assurance and confidence that the Lord is keeping, as 1 Peter 1:4 says, that eternal inheritance in heaven for you.

But here’s the thing, and I mentioned this earlier. That assurance, that confidence, ultimately that comfort, that peace that we’ve been given, must not lead to a place of passivity. Rather, it must lead us to a place of action. Having ourselves been rescued from the judgment that otherwise would have awaited us, we’re called to run back into the burning building, as it were, and plead with people, plead with souls, to turn from their old ways, and to trust in Jesus Christ.

So, what do you see out there? What do you see when people are in front of you, when you see the whites of the eyes of the people that you’re in conversation with? What do you see when you see the anxiety and the hopeless and the worry that’s written all over their face? What do you see when you see the hostility and the opposition to God that’s woven into the very way they live their lives? What do you see when you drive into the city of Lincoln and you see the city limit sign and it’s got the number of people that live here. Do you see statistics or do you see souls? Do you have a pressing and real sense of the fires of hell that await those who fail to repent and trust in Christ in this life?

Many of you have probably heard of the name Penn Jillette. He’s the renowned Las Vegas entertainer. He’s also a very well-known atheist. And he’s been known to make some very bold claims against Christianity, in particular. In just about every sense we would say that Penn Jillette has it wrong. He’s got a wrong view of the bible. He’s got a wrong view of Christ as Savior. He rejects scripture. But do you know one area that Penn Jillette has it right? On the duty of the Christian to share his or her faith. Here’s what he said in an interview some years ago. This is an atheist. He says, “I’ve always said that I don’t respect people who don’t proselytize,” his word for evangelize. “I don’t respect that at all. If you believe that there’s a heaven and a hell, and people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life, and you think that it’s not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward . . . how much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate somebody to believe everlasting life is possible and not tell them that? I mean, if I believed, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that a truck was coming at you, and you didn’t believe that truck was bearing down on you, there is a certain point where I tackle you.”

Do you understand the peril that awaits those who do not trust in Christ? Then why not prioritize peace and share the gospel with them? Do you understand the reward that awaits those who do trust in Christ? Then why not prioritize peace and share the gospel with them? Are you a brokenhearted evangelist or are you halfhearted in your witness? If the latter, you need to transform your view of the world and your role in it, and your purpose as a Christian. Your need to check your heart to make sure you have a heart for the lost. It’s great that you know that the Rapture proceeds the Tribulation. It’s great that you have all the arguments laid out as to why the apostolic gifts have ceased. And it’s great that you know how Dispensationalism advances Reformation thought. But do you care about lost people? Does it burden you that neighbors, and strangers, and co-workers, and friends, and baseball coaches, Husker players, and postal workers, and fire fighters, and police officers, and schoolteachers, and religious people, and yes, even some people in this room, are going to hell? If that’s not burdening you, if that doesn’t give you heartburn, if that doesn’t cause a lump in your throat, something’s wrong, something needs to change. You really do need to cultivate a heart for the lost. And there are not two better ways to cultivate a heart for the lost, than through the tried-and-true old spiritual disciplines of bible intake and prayer.

Let’s talk a little bit about those. Bible intake – if you don’t have a heart for the lost, get in this book! Study this book. Make your life revolve around this book. Mind the truths of this book. Because in this book you’ll see what we’ve just gone through, what this book teaches so plainly about heaven and hell. In this book you’ll see with great clarity what Christ Himself says about Him being the only way to salvation. By getting in this book you’ll see examples over and over in the Old Testament and the New, of God’s messengers proclaiming to rebellious people that they must repent of their sinful ways and trust God. The point is you can’t be a soul-winner if you’re not scripture saturated. Diving into the scriptures is an essential way to cultivate a heart for the lost. In fact, there’s no better time than right now to commit to joining us (like I said in announcements), as a church, in reading through the bible together in 2023.

The other I mentioned is prayer. We can cultivate a heart for the lost, if we find ourselves lacking in this area, through prayer. A soul-winner is a prayer warrior. And they are prayer warriors because their hearts break for the lost. Again, I quote Spurgeon, who said, “Winners of souls must first be weepers for souls.” How frequently do you pray for the unsaved? Are you praying for, not only unsaved family members, but unsaved friends, and unsaved foes, and unreached people groups? Are you praying for gospel-sharing opportunities with strangers? Are you praying for missionaries around the world who are bring the gospel to previously unreached people groups? Are you praying for the salvation of the leaders of this city, our liberal, San Francisco-sense mayor, our lesbian police chief, our other God-hating civil servants? Are you praying for the salvation of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, who I know are the butt of many jokes in our day, but they are fellow-image bearers who are so lost and so desperately in need of salvation through Christ. See, our prayer lists show what we care most about. What does our prayer life say about us here this morning? Do our prayer lists reflect a genuine burden for souls? Or instead, would they reflect a burden for our own temporal wants and needs and desires? If you want to develop a heart of a soul-winner, you need to be praying for the souls that you want to win. Praying for undistracted opportunities. Praying for clarity of thought and speech as you share. Praying for soft and receptive hearts. Praying for good soil for the gospel to fall on. And praying for salvation.

See, there are tens of thousands of people within a few mile radius of this church who have never heard the true gospel as laid out in scripture. Maybe they’ve heard about Jesus. Maybe they’ve been to church. Maybe they pray prayers when they get some sort of jam in life. Maybe they have a dust covered bible laying on a shelf somewhere. Maybe they even have parents or grandparents who went to Indian Hills back in the 70’s or 80’s. But they’ve never really come to understand what it means to become a Christian. Or what it means to be a Christian. They’ve never truly committed their lives to Jesus Christ, and therefore they have no peace. And what that means is, again, when their physical bodies expire, hell awaits them. What are we going to do about that? What are we willing to do about that? Are we willing to have the tense conversation, the difficult conversation, the awkward conversation? Are we willing to overcome our own fears of how we’ll say things, or what we’ll sound like, or how we’ll be perceived, so that someone who has never heard the true gospel of grace can hear that true salvation comes through Jesus Christ and Him alone, and then experience true and everlasting peace.

We’ve got to check our hearts. That’s our first one, “Check Our Hearts.” We need to get real about whether we truly have hearts for the lost. But there’s another area of diagnosis that we need to run through as we go through this evangelism checkup. And it’s this, point #2, “Check Your Sight.” So, check your heart, point 1, check your sight, point 2. Do you have sight for the spiritually blind? Now, when we gather here at church, we’re gathering as God’s people, The Church. The “ekklesia” is by definition a community of God’s redeemed people. People who have, as 1 Peter 2:9 says, been called “out of darkness and into His marvelous light.” People who have been commissioned to live for Christ. People who are called to live in the world, but at the same time are not of the world.

Now here’s the thing. The Lord here at Indian Hills (I’ve noticed each Sunday morning) has been progressively adding this steady stream of new people that are coming here in recent months. And it’s great, praise the Lord! But, here’s my question, have you all been welcoming those new individuals, as they come in through these doors? By the way, I’m not asking that question of Bryan Willett in Hospitality team. I know they are. I’m asking this question of everybody here. What are we doing to welcome the new people that the Lord is bringing to this church?

See, one great way to get practice as an evangelist, as a soul-winner outside the church, is to be on the frontlines of welcoming people inside the church. To get your “eyes up,” so to speak. To get your eyes off yourself. To get your eyes off those who you already know, those with whom you’re already familiar, those who are your closest friends, and in our church context those who are your family members. And to set your sightlines, instead, on other people, new people. So that you can welcome them here to our church. See, soul-winners outside the church are welcoming people here inside the church. And one of the best ways to “sharpen your tools” as an evangelist out there, is to be welcoming and inviting and hospitable here.

For a clearer picture of what I mean by all that I’ve just laid out, turn with me if you would, turn with me to Romans 15. We’ve going to get a picture of what being a welcoming Christian looks like. Romans 15, Gil will get here in about 6 years on Wednesday nights, (laughter), maybe sooner. Look at Romans 15, we’re going to look at one verse, Romans 15:7 says, “Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.” This is just one verse, but in this verse, there’s so much context here, we see it all. We see a “what,” it describes what we’re called to do. We see a “who,” in who we’re called to emulate. And we see a “why,” it tells us why we’re to do what we’re called to do. It’ll be helpful to get a sense of what I’m trying to say here this morning to unpack this verse, as each of the components will not only help us set our sights on welcoming here at the church, but eventually set our sights on those outside the church, as we seek to be more faithful in sharing the gospel.

Let’s start with the words “accept one another.” Now, I’m reading from the NASB, and that’s the word I see on my page, is “accept”. Other English translations, including the ESV, use the word, “welcome” there. I actually prefer the word “welcome” here, because I think it more accurately represents what we see in the original Greek text. The Greek word that Paul uses here in Romans 15:7, is “proslambano.” It’s a compound verb, it combines the verb “lambano,” which means to receive, and the preposition “pros,” which means beside. Receive beside. If you’re putting those words together in a real strict way it means to receive beside. To bring someone near you, to bring them into fellowship with you, to bring them into community with you which often means meeting some sort of practical need of theirs.

In fact, turn with me to Acts 28, where we’re going to see a real-life example of this, Acts 28, and what this word “proslambano” means, entails and involves. Now, as you’re turning there, Acts 28, for context Paul has been on his way to Rome. And after a storm and shipwreck, he ends up on the island of Malta, this Mediterranean island just south of Sicily. And look at how Luke, who wrote Acts, records Paul’s experience in Malta here in Acts 28. We’re going to look at the first two verses here, he says, “When they,” meaning Paul’s crew, “had been brought safely through, then we found out that the island was called Malta. The natives showed us extraordinary kindness; for because of the rain that had set in and because of the cold, they kindled a fire and received us all.” Now interestingly that word that Luke uses here for natives is the word from which we get our English word, “barbarian.” And the barbarians did what? Well, it says they showed Paul and his crew extraordinary kindness. And how did they do that? Well, it says they received us all. That word “received” is the same word that we see back in Romans 15:7, “proslambano.” The barbarians of Malta did not simply allow Paul and his crew onto their shores, they didn’t merely permit Paul and his crew to plant their feet on the sandy beaches of Malta. No, they received them, they welcomed them. It says they kindled the fire for them. Because it was starting to rain and it was cold. And in this very practical and intentional way, the Maltese natives showed immediate and direct care and concern for Paul and Luke and the rest of the team.

There’s a major lesson here that we as a church can learn from these barbarians from 2,000 years ago. And it’s this, the biblical command from Romans 15:7 is not only to grant entry to someone at our church, to keep the building unlocked during business hours. You know, any place with four walls and a front door can do that. They can grant entry to people. A bank does that, the library does that, the DMV does that. The command instead for Christians and for the church is to welcome people. Welcome -- what does that look like? Welcoming here at a church, our church, on a Sunday morning, or a Sunday evening, or a Wednesday evening, it looks like this: greeting others warmly, shaking their hand, asking them questions, remembering their names, showing them around, sitting with them, introducing them to others, inviting them to lunch, getting their contact information, following up with them, praying for them, having them over for a meal. Those things don’t happen at the bank or the library, or the DMV, right?

That’s the “what”, we’re called to welcome others. Next is, going back to Romans 15:7, next is the “who”. The “what” is to welcome. What is the “who”? Who is it that we’re called to emulate as we welcome others into fellowship here at our church, who is our template, who is our example? Well, look at the next part of verse 7, Romans 15, “just as Christ also accepted us,” or in the ESV, “welcomed you.” Those are powerful words! Don’t overlook them! Don’t miss that glorious connection between what Christ came to do for you and for me, in the command we now have in Romans 15:7, to welcome others. And how has Jesus Christ, the perfect and sinless Son of God, welcomed us? Here’s how, He died for us; He welcomed us into God’s family through His sacrificial death, and burial, and resurrection. And why did He do that? Because of how lovely we were? How beautiful we were? How worthy of welcome we were? No! Titus 3:3 says, we were ”foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.” That’s our resume. Ephesians 2:3 says the same thing, it says we “all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath.” Not the greatest CV. We were hostile. We were alienated. We were actively opposed to God.

We were His enemies and yet Christ welcomed us. Romans 5:6 says, “at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” And by doing so He brought us into God’s family. He received us. He saved us. So, that the ultimate end for us was no longer death but eternal life. So, if Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, was willing to do that for wretched sinners like us, descending from His eternal dwelling place in heaven to our sin-stained world, to welcome those who once were His enemies by dying for them, can’t we follow His example, and go a little bit out of our way to welcome people here to our church? If Christ has so welcomed us, can’t we leave the comfort zone of that circle of our closest church friends and welcome a stranger? Can’t we tell our Home Bible Study friends or our Titus Tuesday friends, that we’ll see them Thursday or we’ll see them Tuesday, because there’s someone new here that I’ve just got to say hello to? If Christ has so welcomed us, can’t we show up a little bit earlier on a Sunday or stay a little bit later, to welcome those who otherwise might go unwelcomed? That’s what the Apostle Paul is communicating here.

And now the “why.” Why do we do this? Why do we welcome others as Christ has also welcomed or accepted us? He says it here at the end of verse 7, “to the glory of God.” We’ll be successful in our efforts to be a welcoming church, and ultimately to train our eyes as evangelists to be focused on others both here and out there only if our sights are set on the right target, which is the glory of God.
See, everything in this universe exists to display God, to give Him glory. The world, society, culture, people, families, all of it exists to magnify and glorify God and His character. Romans 11:36, “For from Him and through Him and to Him are,” how many things?, “all things.” That includes the church! That includes everything that happens in the church! The Sunday preaching. The various classes and Sunday schools and bible studies. Titus Tuesday. The Men’s and Women’s Conferences. The Fall Kickoff. The Christmas Concerts that we just came through. They all exist for one ultimate thing which is to make much of the greatness of God. So does welcoming in the church. We are called to welcome others in church to the glory of God.
The aim of this text, Romans 15:7, and this little jaunt that we’re on, is not to help you overcome social awkwardness with people. It’s not to help you win friends and influence people. It’s not to help you cure your sweaty palms or your stuttering speech. The aim instead is to get you to see that we have a higher aim and a higher objective, which is the pursuit of the glory of God. Denying ourselves and our personal preferences, being willing to forego certain comforts, so that we can welcome others as Christ welcomed us, ultimately to the glory of God.

So, how are we doing with this? Are we as a church, as God is calling us here to be here, being welcoming? And does our welcoming reflect the welcome we have received through Christ? And is our welcoming targeted on the ultimate pursuit of the glory of God? I pray that our church will always be intentional about welcoming inside the church in a way that models that welcome we’ve received through Christ, to the glory of God. And as we do so, that our eyes will be trained and our focus will be sharpened, to pursue the evangelistic efforts outside the church, that we’re called to.

Alright, we’re two steps into our diagnosis. We’ve checked our hearts. We’ve checked our eyes. Here’s our third heading and our third point for this morning. Third part of our vital signs checkup, “Check Your Excuses.” We all do it. You know, we go to the doctor, we make excuses. At least I do. “No, doctor, I haven’t been exercising. I’ve been too busy.” “No, doctor, I haven’t been eating right. It’s my wife’s fault.” “No, doctor, I haven’t taken that prescription. I’ve just had a lot on my mind of late.” Well, just as there are many ways in which we make excuses for not taking care of ourselves physically, we can find ourselves making an equal number of excuses for why we don’t take care of ourselves spiritually. And specifically, and germane to our topic this morning, taking care of ourselves spiritually, by faithfully discharging the duty Christ has given us, to prioritize peace by sharing the gospel with the lost.
Let’s run just through a few of these common excuses, that people will make, Christians will make, for not sharing the gospel. Perhaps some of these will be familiar to you. And if they are, I want to mention right now, I’m not mentioning these to discourage. I’m mentioning these to exhort, and to equip, and to spur you on to greater faithfulness. We’re going to run through five of these excuses, and then we’ll close.

Excuse #1, God is sovereign In salvation, so why bother? That excuse is actually phrased as a question, whenever I hear it. And it will usually go something like, “You know, God is going to save who He’s going to save, so why does He need me to open my mouth? Why do I need to do anything?” Well, the answer is simple. Because He tells us to. We need to look no further, again, than the words of Jesus Himself, in Matthew 28, where He says, “Go”. That’s not a suggestion. It’s not a polite request. It’s a command from Christ, the Captain. Yes, God is sovereign in salvation. Yes, God has appointed certain people unto salvation. Yes, He has hidden for now, the identity of those He has elected and called and chosen. But He still calls on us to share with the lost. We are earth-bound agents of His carrying out His eternal redemptive plan. He doesn’t need us, yet He choses to use us. We do the proclaiming, He does the saving, That shouldn’t stifle us. And it certainly doesn’t excuse us. Rather, it should stimulate us, and even excite us to share! That’s excuse #1.

Excuse #2, I just preach the gospel with my life.
Now, some of you might have heard that line. It goes back many centuries. Preach the gospel, use words if necessary. Those words are admittedly quite catchy, but they’re very wrong. Because the gospel is by definition, “euangelion,” good news.” It’s news, it’s centered on a message, and that message includes specific facts. The gospel message includes specific facts about who God is, as the Creator of all, a holy and righteous God who expects and demands perfection in His presence. The gospel includes facts about who we are as humans, born into sin, and given to sin, and destined for a date with the consequences of our sin. Meaning death, physical death, and spiritual death, and eternal death. And the gospel message includes specific facts about who Christ is, and what He came to do. He’s the eternal Son of God, who we just acknowledged this past Christmas, put on flesh. “The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us,” as John 1:14 says. He is fully God and fully man. The spotless Lamb, the sinless One, whose sufficient sacrifice is the hope for all mankind. It is the olive branch of peace that is offered to all who would accept His offer, His free gift of salvation. Not only is the gospel message though anchored in those facts about God, and mankind, and about Christ.

The gospel calls for a particular response -- repentance and faith -- in order to be saved. To lay claim to those glorious gospel truths that I’ve just briefly outlined, a person must turn from their old, sinful ways, as they turn to Christ and come to Him in faith. 2 Corinthians 5:17, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” Or Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” In other words, for the true follower of Christ it is out with the old and in with the new. And it’s all rooted in the very power of the gospel message. You see, living an exemplary life, a better life, has never saved anybody. Just trying to be a good person has never saved anybody. Praying the rosary has never saved anyone. Slapping a “Not of this World” sticker on your car, or a “What Would Jesus Do?” bracelet on your wrist, or a “He is greater than I” hat on your head, or an Indian Hills T-Shirt on your back, has never saved anybody. It’s the gospel that saves. In fact, if you’re going to do the scripture reading with us this year, which I encouraged you to do in this morning’s reading, we went through Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” The gospel is the one and only remedy for man’s sin problem. It was the solution for your sin problem. It was the solution for my sin problem. And now, the only reasonable response to the salvation we’ve been given is to share that gospel message with others.
Reminds me of Psalm 51. I won’t turn us there for lack of time, but as you see Psalm 51, different context, different age with David, of course, but you see him laying out this great salvation. He talks about having his transgressions blotted out. Having been washed thoroughly from his iniquity and purified with hyssop. And then in verse 13 he pivots and says, “Then I will teach transgressors Your ways.” There’s this link in David’s mind’s eye about having received forgiveness and now going and proclaiming this great God who has given him that forgiveness. That ought to be our posture as well. Having had our sins blotted out, having been washed and purified, we are like David in Psalm 51:13 to “teach transgressors,” in our context, share the gospel with them.

I mentioned five excuses, I’m on number three, evangelism is exclusively for pastors. That’s the excuse you’ll hear. This is the old, you know, “leave it to the professionals” excuse. Well, it’s an absolutely unbiblical and unacceptable cop-out. Yes, 2 Timothy 4:5 does instruct pastors in particular to “do the work of an evangelist,” as they “fulfill [their] ministry.” In fact, you may remember, I think it was sermon #3 that I gave here as I assumed pulpit responsibilities, one of the commitments I laid out is that I will always be a gospel preaching, gospel proclaiming, gospel sharing pastor. But hear me, that’s not to the exclusion of everybody else here. No, my job, Ephesians 4:12 says that pastors are to be “equipping the saints,” you, for the work of service. The work of ministry. And that work includes the work of evangelism. Jesus didn’t commission pastors and only pastors to share the message of peace through the gospel. Rather, He commissioned all Christians regardless of your specific role or function in the church to be His gospel ambassadors.

Excuse #4, I don’t have the intellectual firepower needed to share the gospel.
I’m not smart enough. Well, that’s just wrong. Now, don’t get me wrong. You shouldn’t be out there preaching a false gospel or giving false answers. And giving false hope. You shouldn’t be proclaiming inaccurate or untruthful nonsense. But you don’t need to be seminary-trained to witness. You don’t need to have certain academic qualifications, or a certain IQ score, to share the gospel. You don’t need to me a master of theology or have a doctor of divinity to be a faithful witness for Christ. No, to be a faithful evangelist, all you need is a grasp on the gospel, a prayerful and submissive spirit, and a tongue.

Excuse #5, I’m not sufficiently eloquent.
I mumble. I stutter. I trip over my words. My palms get sweaty. My body gets shaky. I get anxious. The answer to that objection would be since when did God use the wise and the confident of this world to accomplish His purposes? Scripture teaches the exact opposite, does it not? 1 Corinthians 1:27, “God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong.” Or go back to the Old Testament, think of Moses as he receives his initial commission from Yahweh in Exodus 4:10. He says, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent . . . for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” And what does God say in the very next verse? Exodus 4:11, “Who has made man’s mouth?” We have to remember the same thing. Who was it that formed our mouths? Who is it that is forming our thoughts? Who is it that, as His Spirit is in us and moving us and conforming us to Christ, is giving us opportunities?

One of my greatest burdens as a pastor, pastor here specifically, is to make sure that as a church we never lose sight of our mission to make disciples. Which as we’ve seen this morning, starts with proclaiming the saving message of the gospel with the lost. And as we close our time this morning, I’m going to invite you to flip over to Romans 10, we’ll end here. Familiar verse I’m sure for many. Unique context, unique setting, of course. But Romans 10:14 says, “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not yet heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?” That verse sends a chill down my spine, whenever I see it. It ought to send a chill down your spine, too. Why? Well, the context, you know, here in Romans, the good news, the gospel message concerning Christ, had first been proclaimed to this Jewish audience. But here we see Paul telling us that the gospel has now reached the Gentiles after it was rejected by this initial Jewish audience. And note carefully what he says here in verse 14, there are people who have not called on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. And why? Because they haven’t believed in Him. And why? Because they haven’t heard of Him. And why? Because no one has proclaimed Him to them. See, there were people in Paul’s day that needed to hear the life-giving message of the gospel, but hadn’t. And the link here to us today, is that there are people in our day that need to hear the life-giving message of the gospel, but haven’t.

So, my charge to you, my plea to you, my exhortation to you with this new year, 2023, now here, and with opportunities abounding and awaiting us, my charge to you is that you get out there. That you get out there as recipients of the peace that God has given you, and granted you, through Christ. And that you prioritize peace by proclaiming the message of peace, the message of the gospel, while we all await the return of the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen?

Let’s pray. Father, again we thank You for the joy that we who know You through Christ have, knowing that our salvation is secure. That’s it’s been completed and paid for at Calvary. We thank You for this new year and the many opportunities it brings to proclaim the message of the gospel. There’s so many ways that people resolve on January 1st or there abouts to turn over a new leaf. It happens with each of us. And while the aspirations, the resolutions that we make by-and-large are not bad or wrong or sinful, I just pray that each of us would really take stock and catalogue what we’re resolving to do in 2023. What we’re resolving to be as followers of Christ. How we’re resolving to grow. And I do pray that at the very top of that list for everyone here would be a resolve to prioritize peace. To go out into the highways and the byways. To go all around Lincoln here and share the gospel message, the message of hope, the message of peace. That sinful man can be reconciled to a holy God, and be reconciled to Him and have eternal life, all based on the finished work of Christ on the cross. We give You thanks and praise for this day, this new year, and for this opportunity, the many opportunities to share the gospel that we know You’ll lay before us this year. We thank You and love You, in Jesus’ name. Amen