My Sermon Outline (12 Nov 06)

Sending Preachers
Romans 10:12-18

Introduction

• The church’s greatest duty on earth is to send preachers.
• Church is God’s only institution on earth that is given the task of preaching the Gospel of salvation everywhere.
• So the Apostle Paul instructs the church in Rome, its duty of sending preachers.

Reasons for Church’s Commitment to Send Preachers
1. We are entrusted with a message (v.15c)
“preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” (v.15c)

• “Gospel of peace”: The good news that offers peace. (cf. Ephesians 6:15)
– It is the word of reconciliation between God and man. “On earth peace” (Luke 2:14).
– Romans 5:1 - “. . . Peace with God through Jesus Christ”

• “Glad tidings of good things!”:
– 2 Thessalonians 2:16 – “Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace.”
– Romans 10:12b-13 - “the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

• “is rich” (Greek – plouteo): It indicates that God is affluent in resources so that He can give blessings of salvation to all.
• What a joyous news is that God will manifest His grace and salvation abundantly to all those who would trust Him.

• The Apostle Paul has described the message of the Gospel also as

– “Gospel of Christ” (Philippians 1:27)
– “Gospel of salvation” (Ephesians 1:13; 1 Thess 3:2; 2 Thess 1:8)
– “Glorious Gospel” (1 Timothy 1:11)

2. We are entrusted with a mandate (vv.14-15a)

“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, except they be sent?”
• Faith comes by hearing, so they must hear the message. How will they hear?
• A messenger must go to them with the message.
• But this means that the messenger must be sent.
• The preachers ought to be sent to every people, indiscriminately. It is God’s commandment to His Church.

– Romans 10:12-13 – “For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
– Matthew 28:18-20

Role of the Church in Sending Preachers
“And how shall they preach, except they be sent?” (v.15a)
• Preparing Preachers
– 2 Timothy 2:2 – “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.”
• Providing for Preachers
– Philippians 4:10-19
• Pray for preachers
– We must pray for more labourers to do the work of evangelism. - Matthew 9:37-38
– We must pray for the protection of those who preach the Gospel - Romans 15:30-31
– We must pray that God would grant us more opportunities to preach the Gospel. - Colossians 4:2-3
– We ought to pray that the preachers of the Gospel would have the grace to expound the truth clearly to the hearers. - Colossians 4:3-4
– We must pray God that He would grant us boldness in preaching - Ephesians 6:19, 20

Responses to the Church’s Sending of Preachers
• Some will turn to the Lord
– Romans 10:13 – “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
• Some will reject the Lord
– Romans 10:16 – “But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?”

Results of the Church’s Sending of Preachers
• Divine commendation
– Romans 10:15b - “How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace”
• Many will turn to Christ by faith
– Romans 10:17 – “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
• World evangelization is accomplished
– Romans 10:18 - “But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.”
We will be able to fulfil our part in God’s plan concerning the Global preaching of the Gospel.
– Matthew 24:14 – “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”

A Passion for Fervent Prayer in Church

I was always convinced in my heart that prayer is very vital in the ministry of the church. Now that conviction is becoming an unbridled passion of my heart. There were times when the Lord moved me to lead the church in prolonged prayers, even with fasting. Now, it has gripped my heart like never before that we should give ourselves to fervent prayer. A stronger and more vibrant prayer ministry in the church is my heart’s passion! O that men and women might pray day and night and the power, wisdom and provisions of God might fill every ministry of the church for the salvation of thousands of souls in Singapore and around the world and for the establishment of churches around the world.

Gethsemaneans, come and join the ‘Prayer-Partners’ ministry in the church. Let us humble ourselves and seek His face. He is our only help, our only guide. Jesus told us “without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). Then He said, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples” (John 15:7-8). Let us obey our Lord and pray that we may be fruitful.
Let us not only to come for prayer on Tuesday nights, but let us also more often unite our hearts in small groups and pray from different places.
My brethren, I plead, let us seek His face that His countenance may shine upon all our Gospel frontiers.

My Sermon outline (5th Nov 06)

The Word of Faith
Romans 10:8-11

Introduction
Revision and New Observations of the Preceding Context (vv.2-7)
• Ignorant zeal of the Jews (vv.2-3)
– Inconsistent with the knowledge (v.2b)
– Ignorant of God’s righteousness (v.3a)
– Insistent on self-righteousness (v.3b)
– Insubordinate to God’s righteousness (v.3c)
• Christ, “the end of the law” (v.4)
– Christ is the designed end (telos) or the purpose or the object of the law concerning righteousness.
– He has fulfilled the law (all its righteous precepts – moral and ceremonial)
– So He became the “righteousness to every one that believeth.”
Paul then applies two Old Testament passages to urge his readers to exercise faith in Christ as their righteousness.
i) v.5: Cf. Leviticus 18:5 – “That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.”
• If any one wants to live by the righteousness of the law, it requires complete obedience to all of the law.
• But such a perfect righteousness through total obedience is impossible for the sinful man ever to achieve.
Romans 3:20 – “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”
Romans 9:31- “But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.”
James 2:10 – “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”
• This not at all due to the fault or error of the law, but man’s inability. The law, by itself, does not make us righteous, but it exposes and condemns our sins.
Romans 7:7 - What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.

ii) v.6 : Cf. Deuteronomy 30:12-14
The point of Moses’ exhortation (Deut. 30:11) is that God’s Word given to the Israelites in his day.
• Since they had the message, they did not need to ask that it be brought down from heaven or that someone cross the sea to get it (Deut. 30:13).
• Instead, the Word of God was near them (Deut. 30:14).
• In effect, Paul, like Moses, urged the people to see that it takes no strenuous effort from them to find their righteousness.
• There is no need for anyone to attempt to bring Christ down or to bring Christ up from the dead. God had already sent His Son to us. Christ had already come, lived, died and resurrected.
• Whosever believes on Him will have all his sins forgiven and imputed with Christ’s perfect righteousness.
We Preach the Word of Faith (v.8)
“The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach”
– The term, “the word” (rhēma) occurs twice. It is often translated as “saying.”
– The emphasis of the word is “that which has been stated or said, with primary focus upon the content of the communication.”
– Our message should never be a message of exertion or superstition or tradition.
– Our message ought to be a message of faith in Christ.
– We ministers of the church must preach the “word of faith.” If we add anything to it, we will drag our hearers into a false religion that cannot save.
– This is truth for which the Reformers separated themselves from the false Gospel preached by the Roman Catholicism.
– Today the evangelical preachers from Protestant churches seek to merge with the Roman Catholics. So they created ECT and other ecumenical efforts.
– God forbid that we preach or do anything that will lead our hearers to a religion that cannot save.
Galatians 1:6-9 6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
– Our duty, as a church and preachers, is to declare the “word of faith.”
– Preaching Christ is our greatest duty that sinners be brought to Christ and be saved.
Acts 28:31 - “Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.”
1 Corinthians 1:17 - “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.”
1 Corinthians 1:21 - “For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”

You Believe on Christ (vv.9-10)
“9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
– Confession and believing are not two separate steps to salvation.
– They are chronologically together. Salvation comes through acknowledging to God that Christ is God and believing in Him.
– The confession is an acknowledgement of one’s faith that Christ has incarnated to be our Saviour and that Jesus Christ is God.
– Confessing with the mouth that Jesus is Lord is mentioned first to conform to the order of the quotation from Deuteronomy 30:14 in Romans 10:8.
– One essential aspect of your heart-faith must be that God raised Him from the dead (cf. v. 7).
– The true order is given in verse 10: For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified (“believeth unto righteousness”), and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved .

Salvation is Guaranteed (vv.10-11)
“10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.”
• Paul quotes again Isaiah 28:16 (cf. Rom. 9:33).- “Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.”
• No one who believes in Christ will be exempted from receiving the salvation. None who believes will be condemned.
• Paul reemphasized this truth in verse 12-13, “12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Conclusion
May we, who believe on Gospel of Christ, rejoice that we shall never be condemned. My hearer, if you are still in your sin and its condemnation, you must turn to Christ for your redemption and purification. He lived perfect life and His righteousness is promised to all those who would put their faith in Him. He also died to remove the condemnation of our sins.

Final Hymn – Saved, Saved!

I’ve found a Friend, who is all to me,
His love is ever true;
I love to tell how He lifted me
And what His grace can do for you.
Saved by His pow’r divine, Saved to new life sublime!
Life is now is sweet and joy is complete, For I’m saved, saved!

- Jack P.Scholfield